The Revenge of Ashton Ketchum Oak
by Creative Writer 2000
Summary: Ash Ketchum's home is attacked by Team Rocket. Following the attack, he's adopted by Professor Oak, and undergoes training to exact revenge, while partaking in all the usual tournaments. An entry to awesomeness-rocks' Challenge Ring. Weekly updates.
1. The Attack

Hello, everyone. Welcome to my eleventh fanfiction: 'The Revenge of Ashton Ketchum-Oak'. This fiction is for a challenge ring, set up by awesomeness-rocks. In this challenge, I need to incorporate the following details into my story line;

1. Ash has been training under Oak since he was 5-7 years old  
>2. Ash is really smart<br>3. While Ash was training under Oak he catch/befriends Pikachu, Riolu, and 1 other Pokémon  
>4. Unusual pairing<br>5. Ash catches Lugia and 1 or two more legendary Pokémon  
>6. Ash can use aura<br>7. Ash with cannon and non-cannon Pokemon  
><span>8. Ash who places higher in the League tournaments<span>

I hope you all enjoy the story.

**Disclaimer:**I don't own anything featured in the official Pokémon franchise.

The Attack

It was a calm midnight in Pallet Town. The seas of Route 21 to the south were lapping, gently, against the southern shores of the town. The wind blew calmly through the trees, rustling their leaves like a soft baby rattle. But, there was a dark presence looming in the streets of Pallet Town.

A man in a matt black suit stalked the town's streets, with a mind-set Hell-bent on his destination. Behind him were four teenagers. Two boys, aged 15 and 16. And two girls, aged 14 and 15. All of whom were dressed in black uniforms, sporting a red R in the middle of their shirts.

The 16 year old lad had purple-green eyes that only sparkled when he had dark thoughts, and green hair that was so short, it barely covered his forehead, making him look like he'd had it shaved by force. He held a cigarette in each hand, taking a draw from each one in turn every 10 seconds or less. The 15 year old girl next to him had purple eyes, and blonde hair tied up in twin pigtails. On her ears, she wore two pink triangular earrings. The 15 year old boy had lavender coloured hair that formed an upside down V shape in his fringe. In his hand, he held a single black rose. And the 14 year old girl had long, sweeping pink hair, which curled into a crescent moon shape. On her ears, she wore two green, spherical, earrings.

The sinister group marched down the street, eyes glued to the horizon of the meadows beyond. There, standing alone on the side of a footpath, stood a house. _The_ house. The target house. It was a quaint little house. Nice and modest. A small, white, two bedroom house with a red roof. As they drew near, the evil smirk on the leader's face grew ever wider. When they reached the pristine white fence that surrounded the house, and its beautifully trimmed garden, the suited man turned to the youths.

"OK, you four. This is your first official assignment. You know your orders. No survivors."

"Aye, aye sir." The four teens saluted.

**Inside the house:**

A young boy lay fast asleep in his room. Along his bedroom walls were posters of Pokémon battles. In one poster, a Nidorino was hurling himself towards a smirking Gengar. In another, was a picture of Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. The room was littered with Pokémon memorabilia and official Pokémon League merchandise. The raven haired 5 year old lay peacefully in his Pikachu duvet cover. But the sound of, what sounded suspiciously like, a pokéball being opened caused the toddler to stir. As he opened his curious eyes, he heard a shout from outside his bedroom window.

"Growlithe! Use Flamethrower!" Came a raspy, male voice. A blast of fire was heard, followed swiftly by the shattering of glass, the roar of igniting timber, the smell of singed flesh… and the scream of a woman.

"Mummy?" The little boy jolted from his mattress, eyes the size of dinner plates with horror. He leapt from his bed, and struggled into his favourite blue jacket, jeans and his official Pokémon League hat, which was much too big for him at the moment. He picked up a white half of an old, slightly rusty, pokéball, and ran out into the hallway. As he was about to turn right, to his mother's bedroom, he was stopped by the intense heat of the raging inferno that had erupted from the doorway. Lying just an inch away in front of the child… was his mother.

"Mu-mummy?" The boy quivered, tears starting to push at his retina. The woman stirred, slightly. Her pink, silk dressing gown was singed here and there, and her long, flowing brown hair – which her son adored – was now burnt to half black. Her – once sparkling – tawny brown eyes, which her child had inherited, were now dull, and limp. Her breaths were raggedy, and she coughed after every 3 breathes of the smoky soot that tarnished the air.

"Ash." She croaked. "Ash, you need… you need to get out."

"No. Mummy, I won't leave you."

"You have to, Ash. I'm sorry, but I don't think mummy's going to make it."

"Mummy, please. Don't." The young boy shouted, defiantly. He was not going to hear this. He took his mother's hands, and aided her to kneel, sitting on the backs of her calves.

"Ashy. You need to go. This isn't an accident. Someone's trying to get rid of us." The weakened woman squeezed the words from her throat, choking on a bit of smoke. "I can't let you, not my only child, be hurt by whoever's doing this."

"But, mummy, I don't wanna lose you. Daddy's gone missing, and I want to keep you safe." The five year old whined. His mother was never so defeatist. She'd been through some horrific heartache in her time, but she never lost faith. When she was told that Ash's father was missing in action, she put on a brave face, and kept herself fighting, for the sake of her son. Why now? Why be so negative now? What changed? What does she know? Although the glimmer in her eyes was now completely gone there was still a look about them that said that she knew full well what was going on.

"Son…" She picked her child up, with what little strength she had left, and sat him on her lap, rocking him back and forth softly. "Please. You _must_ go. Run. And keep on running, don't look back. Just run as far away from this house as you can." She placed the, now weeping, child on the hallway floor, and kissed him gently on the forehead. "I love you, Ashy."

"I… I love you… too… mummy." Her child sobbed, sniffing each time he took a breath between sobs.

"And remember." His mother whispered. "You'll always be my little Ashy." And with that, she sank to the floor, head resting on the backs of her hands. Her eyes rolled closed for, what was going to be, the last time.

"Mummy?" The child whimpered. "Mummy? Mummy…? Mummy…? Mummy…?" Was all he could say. He was too grief-stricken to say anything else. He was stuck on repeat. A broken record to match his broken heart, as his mother lay slain before him. He wept, and sobbed, until his eyes ran dry from the heat in the hall. Suddenly, a wooden support beam came crashing down from the ceiling, blazing in front of the boy's eyes. The child gave a scream, and ran for the stairway, leaping down three stairs at a time. The second his little feet touched the floor of the hallway, and the front door was in sight, the child bolted for his only escape route. But, as he was passing the living room, he was grabbed by the collar of his top. He was hoisted into the air, to the sound of evil cackling, coming from fairly youthful mouths.

"Look-y what I found!" Came a gruff, raspy voice, shouting in triumph – as if Ash was some kind of trophy. His captor was a 16 year old, Ash guessed, and stank of cigarettes. A girl with blonde hair stalked over, and picked the child up from the boy's grasp, clinging on to the front of his top. She snarled, evilly, at the whimpering child she held in her fist.

"Boss said no survivors." She crowed, menacingly. As quick as a towel dropping, Ash found himself on the floor, with a rough pain in his right arm. The two teens then proceeded to kick the helpless infant. They kicked him in the head, the chest, and the stomach. The boy even gave a single kick between the crying child's legs. After seconds, which felt more like hours, of this torture, the teens left the sobbing child alone, choking out blood with cuts and bruises all over his small, fragile, frame.

Ash's eyes managed to focus, just a little tiny bit, to make out the shape of a young teenage girl younger than the two who'd just beaten him black and blue, with pink hair gazing down at him. He was going to ask her for help… until he noticed she was wearing the same clothes as the others. Beside the girl was a purple snake Pokémon… Ekans, was it? Ash hadn't seen a Pokémon like that in the big league battles, but he _did_ see one or two on some Australian animal documentary. Beyond the girl, there stood a dark figure in a suit at the front doorway, smirking wickedly, which made Ash's blood run cold.

"Jessie. Finish that kid. We can't risk him living." He snarled, venomously.

"Yes, boss." The girl, who Ash took to be this 'Jessie' person, responded. She turned to face the injured child, and closed her eyes, as if not wanting to see what was going to happen. "Ekans. Bite him. Inject him with your venom." She ordered, deadpanned. Obediently, the snake Pokémon hissed its eagerness, as it lunged for the toddler, and embedded its razor-sharp fangs into the boy's left arm. The child screamed in agony, and pulled away, hugging his now throbbing arm, sobbing as if he'd just been thrown on a bed of nails. "Nothing personal, kid." Jessie explained, as the other teens in the house followed the suited figure out. "Just payback at your dad, for what he did to Team Rocket." A boy with lavender hair popped his head back into the house.

"Jess. We're leaving now." He called. His voice was a surprise. It was suave. Smooth. It would've, almost, been comforting now to Ash, if it weren't for the fact that he knew this boy was evil, like the rest.

"Coming, James." Jessie replied, and she followed him out of the house. Once the door was shut, the raspy voice of the boy who kicked Ash yelled.

"Growlithe! One more Flamethrower!" And there was a blaze of burning red, as the living room window was shattered by a stream of flame, and the fabric of the curtains ignited, spreading fire into the room in seconds.

Now, Ash was laying on the carpet of the living room, curled up in the foetal position, sobbing silently, too weak to make any sound. His little eyes opened, blindly, his vision black as night. '_Why?_' He thought to himself. '_Why us? What did __**we**__ do?_' Then, he remembered Jessie's words. '_What did _**daddy**_ do?_' And his world turned black around him.

**So there's the first chapter. All future chapters will be posted weekly on Sundays (by GMT time), starting with chapter two going up tomorrow on the 22nd of January. See you then.**


	2. Ashton Ketchum Oak

Ashton Ketchum-Oak

As the morning Sun rose, it cast a dim slit of light into the medical room. A young lad with spiky, chestnut hair was laying on the bed in the medical room, staring at the occupant he shared it with. The boy had been out cold for ages. Why wouldn't he wake up? Grampy said that the venom was dealt with. So why isn't he waking up. The boy looked at his sleeping friend, with a face full of worry and despair. He looked so peaceful. _Too_ peaceful. If it weren't for his chest rising and falling, one would probably have thought…

"Come on, Ashy-boy." The boy begged. "Please. Wake up." He stared at Ash's face. His cheeks were blushed with gentle pink. He had his distinct little Z birthmarks highlighting his natural blush, as it glowed in the sun strips. His mouth was puckering with his breath. He looked like a little sleeping princess out of a story book. Although… he would probably need more than a kiss to wake up. What Ash needed was nothing short of a miracle.

But that miracle was just moments away, as Ash's eyes slowly flickered. The chestnut boy looked down at Ash, with a glimmer of hope now sparked in his emerald eyes. Once Ash's eyes were open, the boy jumped off the bed, ran to the door, and called into the hallway; "Grampy! Grampy! Ash is awake!" Before sprinting back to the bed, and clambering back to Ash's side. Soon after, Professor Samuel Oak came rushing into the medical room.

**Ash's POV:**

His vision was hazy, to say the least. He could hardly focus on anything, through the light that was burning through his eyes. He shielded his sensitive retina from the unbearable light. Once his eyes were adjusted, Ash could make out two silhouetted figures. One was a tall figure, adorned in a white lab coat. The other was fairly small but no smaller than himself, and seemed to have some sort of brown spiky thing on its head. Soon, his vision focused, and he saw the two figures clearly. The one dressed in white was Professor Oak, the Pokémon Professor of Kanto. And the other was Gary Oak, Professor Oak's grandson and Ash's bestest best friend in the whole wide world.

**Normal POV:**

Gary looked down at the bemused, and most probably, shaken boy that was peering up, curiously at him. His eyes held a feeling of relief, and sympathy, at the same time. The look in Professor Oak's eyes was one of sympathy and concern. All Ash could do was blink, confusedly, and scan his new surroundings. He deduced that he was in Professor Oak's medical room, judging by the sterile white walls, and the monitors and machinery that littered the room. Finally, once he was established in where he was, his eyes met those of Gary and the Professor.

"Ash, my boy. How are you?" The professor asked, in a sympathetic tone.

"OK, I guess." Ash muttered in response. Then suddenly, his little eyes shot open in horrified realisation. "Mummy! Where's my mummy? Is she OK? Is she OK after last night?" The Oaks shared a look at each other. A look that didn't seem, in the least bit, promising.

"Ash…" The professor started, slowly and hesitantly. He didn't want to break this news, but it had to be said. "You've been unconscious for two whole weeks. And your mother…" He started to fight back tears that were now burning at his aged eyes. He swallowed as hard as he could on the lump that was forming in his throat, forcing it down, before forcing his voice to continue. "I'm afraid your mother didn't make it."

This was _not_ something Ash took kindly. He screamed in anguish at the news, and started to beat the bedclothes around him, tearing at the pillows with his little hands, sinking his teeth into the duvet. Gary jumped like a Kangaskhan at Ash's sudden outburst. Not wanting to get struck by a flailing fist, he scrambled to the foot of the bed. Professor Oak just sat and watched Ash vent his pain and anger, keeping a close eye on him, to make sure he didn't do something dangerously silly. The raven haired child stropped for 5 minutes, before finally breaking down in tears, hugging his knees to his chest resting his spouting eyes onto the tops of his patella. Professor Oak picked the boy up, and rested him on his lap, rocking him back and forth, humming the tune of 'Make A Wish' by Cindy Mizelle and Asuca Hayashi, a lullaby he'd heard Delia sing to Ash when he was just a baby, and he knew full well to calm him quickly.

Sure enough, Ash quieted down quite quickly, and was now drying his eyes. Once the boy was over the worst of the horror from the news, the professor pulled the boy away from the hug the two of them were embraced in, and looked into the child's eyes.

"Ash… I know that you're extremely upset. The loss of a loved one is never easy. Especially when it's one's own parent. But, trust me, the loss of one's child is worse." He reasoned with the boy, knowing full well how heartbroken he was when Gary's parents died in a horrific car crash.

"Wait. How am I still alive? Shouldn't Ekans venom kill the victim in 10 minutes?" Ash asked, suddenly remembering the information he learned from the Australian documentary mentioned earlier.

"Well, yes…" The professor confirmed. "But that's if the victim stays conscious. If the target affect by the venom stays conscious the venom sends the body into shock, increasing its metabolism. This increases the heart rate, and speeds up the dispersal of the venom. But you passed out just seconds after being injected."

"You were lucky, Ash." Gary piped up, crawling over to his grandpa, who still had Ash in his arms. "When unconscious, the body slows down, because the brain doesn't remember the poison, and panic. With the spread of the poison slowed, the effects take longer to kill the victim. When the victim of the poison is unconscious, it takes about 6 hours. Or, so Grampy says, anyway." Ash felt rather lucky to still be breathing. But he was furious that his mother hadn't been as blessed. His little fingers clenched into balled fists of rage, and he started to shake violently with anger as it bubbled from the pit of his belly, and started to boil up into his ears.

"Those monsters." He spat, viciously. The Oaks were quite taken back by this comment. What on PokÉarth did the boy mean by _that_?

"What do you mean, my boy?" The professor asked, confusedly.

"Those people who attacked our house." Ash shuddered, as he remembered the teenagers who kicked him, and the pink haired girl who had her Ekans attack him. "That girl. She said something before she left." He tried to think back to those last few moments of consciousness he held on to.

**Playback:**

"_Nothing personal, kid. Just payback at your dad, for what he did to Team Rocket."_

**End of playback:**

Ash's eyes snapped open again at the memory, his breath becoming raggedy. "She said…" He looked up at the professor who held him with fresh tears in his eyes. "She said it was payback at daddy."

Professor Oak was dumbfounded. Ash's father did something that provoked these people into attacking his family? Who could he have made enemies with, who would do such a thing? Maybe it was… No. Was it? Oh, dear sweet _Arceus_, let it not be so.

"Team Rocket are gonna _pay_ for what they did!" Ash snarled, venomously. Damn. Arceus wasn't so gracious, afterall. It _was_ Team Rocket. And now, Ash was filled with anger at these people, never a good move. But, this being a Ketchum, he will _never_ back down, if he's even _**half**_ like his father. The professor sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to talk Ash down.

"OK, Ash." He said, sitting the boy back down onto the bed, and started ushering Gary out the room. "I can see where this is going." He sent Gary to his room, before turning to Ash to finish his conversation. "I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'll take you into my own care, because I won't forgive myself if I ever see you go into a care home. And, starting tomorrow, I'll start training you. Then, when you're 10 years old, I'll send you out on your official Pokémon journey, and you can live your life as you want." He paused, trying to push back the thought of what he was going to say next. "…Even if that means you still go after revenge on Team Rocket, for the pain they've caused you." And with that, he wished Ash goodnight, turned out the lights, and left the young boy to get some sleep. He'd be needing it. Oak's training will _not_ be a walk in the park.

Ash nestled into his bed, eyes staring up at the ceiling, as if ignoring the fact it was ever there and – instead – he was staring up at the stars.

"One day, mummy." He whispered, wishing it onto a star so that Delia would hear him. "One day, Team Rocket will apologise for taking you away from me." Having told his promise to his mother, he blew her a kiss, hoping that it'd reach Heaven before he falls asleep, and settled down for the night. Tomorrow morning, Ash would be 'training' with his new guardian Professor Oak. As Ashton Ketchum-Oak.


	3. Training Begins

Training Begins

Ash was asleep surprisingly quickly. It was barely 10 o'clock by the time Ash was dreaming. Well… I say dreaming;

**Ash's dream sequence:**

_There was darkness all around. There was so little light one wouldn't even see the nose on the front of their face. Through the blackness, an ominous and constant buzzing emanated from an unknown source. Slowly, dim lights started to illuminate a small circle, about 6 or 7 feet in diameter. Within the circle of light, there was a large metal table, which looked very much like a torture table from some horrendous horror film. On the table was a man. He was strapped down to the table with iron restraints, and was fully unclothed – barring a white loincloth that draped loosely over his toned, muscular, form. In his arms, there were wires of red, blue, green and yellow, which seemed to twist and wind from an unknown origin, piercing into his skin._

_The man's face was covered by jet black hair, with a silver flick in his fringe, stuck to his face with sweat. His breathing was laboured and heavy. A jolt of electrical current surged through all the wires leading into his skin, causing the man to convulse and scream in pain unimaginable. The shocks stopped, and the man relaxed, ever so cautiously, and gasped to catch his breath. He pulled at his restraints, and tried to turn himself loose. Another surge of electricity coursed through his muscles, making the man shriek once more in exquisite agony. He thrashed about on the table, shrieking and screaming in unbearable anguish. He tossed and twisted on the table, his skin starting to smoke. His eyes jerked open, blazing red, with fire flaring in his vision. He let out an inhuman roar, and started to rip at the metal that surrounded him._

**End of dream sequence:**

"DADDY!" Ash squealed, as he jerked awake from the horrific vision in his sleep. He was dripping with, freezing cold, sweat, that made his pyjamas stick to his skin. He panted, catching his breath back. The door swung open, and in dashed the Oaks. Gary clambered onto the bed, and glomped Ash in a comforting hug, offering him as much support as his could. Professor Oak sat on the edge of the bed, and picked the two boys up, plonking them down on his lap. He waited for Ash's breathing to steady, and then decided to ask what the matter was. The boy seemed troubled by something.

"Ash? What's the matter? What happened, my lad?"

"I saw… I saw daddy." Ash responded, shakily. "In a dream." He wiped his eyes, which had started to water. "He looked like he was hurting. He was on a metal table. And he had these wires in his body."

Professor Oak held the shaky child close, hushing and patting him, telling him that dreams don't mean anything, and they're not to be feared. Although, he couldn't quite shake the feeling that – actually – there _was_ something slightly off about this dream of Ash's. Was it a warning, maybe? A prophecy? A premonition? Whatever the reason for the dream, it meant that Ash was bound to be in for one Hell of an adventure when he turns 10. The professor looked up at the clock. It wasn't stupidly early, so he thought this would be a good time to start the first day of Ash's preparation training.

"Well, it's half past 5, Ash. I would've woken you up in half an hour, so… shall we have breakfast and start your first day of training?"

"Yeah. OK, then, Professor." Ash replied, crawling out of Professor Oak's lap.

"Ash. It's OK for you to call me 'Grampy'. I'm, practically, adopting you." The professor smiled, and left the room, to start making breakfast.

Breakfast over, Professor Oak lead Ash and Gary into a room, which seemed to resemble a dojo training room. Ash and the professor were stood in the centre of the training arena, wearing martial art robes, and Gary was sat at the side, observing. The professor and Ash bowed to each other, as a sign of respect.

"Alright, Ash. You're first lesson is how to defend yourself. Those Team Rocket goons really did a number on you, that night." Urgh. Don't remind him. Ash _still_ tasted the iron of his blood just _thinking_ about it. The professor held up two pokéballs. He tossed them into the air, releasing two humanish shaped Pokémon. One looked like a human body without a head, and its eyes where a human's shoulders would be. And the other was slim, with a purple toga on, and boxing gloves on its hands. Ash was awestruck by the Pokémon. He'd seen them before, but only on TV. They were Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee, two of Ash's favourite fighting type Pokémon. The Pokémon bowed to Ash, as a sign of respect, which he returned. "OK, you two." Professor Oak addressed the martial art Pokémon. "Let's show our young apprentice here how we defend ourselves from attackers." The Pokémon nodded, and assumed battle stances.

Hitmonchan started to unleash a flurry of punches. His fists were so quick, his arms looked nearly invisible to the eye. But Professor Oak was too fast for the Boxing Pokémon, darting this way and that, avoiding every swing. After the 100th swing, he made his move. The old man grabbed Hitmonchan's arm, mid-swing, and jabbed his fingers into the Pokémon's side, just beneath the ribcage, winding the creature, and causing it to double over. Then, it was Hitmonlee's turn. The Kicking Pokémon started swinging his legs in fluid, sweeping movements. Again the professor dodged effortlessly, leaning left and right and left again. Finally, he grabbed Hitmonlee by the ankle, and flipped the Pokémon over his shoulder, sending it crashing to the floor. The two Pokémon lay on the floor, unconscious, as the professor stood proud, dusting his robes off.

Ash started to applaud the professor, who – very flattered – took a bow.

"Wow, Professor. That was amazing." The boy cooed.

"Why thank you, Ash." The man thanked. "But, like I said before, call me 'Grampy'." He winked.

"OK, then… Grampy." Ash replied, with a blush. That's something he's going to need to adjust to. Professor Oak returned his two Pokémon.

"Well done, you two, you did well. And you've both earned a good long rest." He congratulated them, as they disappeared into their pokéballs. He turned to the star struck child before him, and threw another pokéball. From inside popped out a Machop. "Now, Ash. _You'll_ be training with Machop, here. Machop is a very good start to help you train. Although they are not as strong as Machoke and Machamp, its evolved forms, they're pretty strong little tykes, so be careful." Ash nodded, and the Machop assumed a battle position. "Let's teach you the basics, first, Ash." The professor offered, and snapped his fingers.

**At lunchtime:**

Ash was eating a toasted cheese sandwich with an icepack strapped across his right eye. His training buddy, Machop, was sat next to him, sporting a small bruise an inch below his ribcage. Ash may look like a scrawny little tyke, but he's not as easy to push around as one may think. Contrary to popular belief, Ash is a fast learner. He was able to intercept Machop's Low Kick attacks after just three attempts. Although the training session was just for sparring, Ash _was_ going to get a black eye after that last punch to the face that went a tad wrong. It was meant to deflect a karate chop from the human boy, but his head jerked downwards, because he lost his footing, and he ended up headbutting Machop's fist. He surprised everyone, however, by the brave face he put on. He didn't cry, he didn't make a fuss… he didn't even say 'Ow'. Now, everyone was having a well-deserved lunch, and the professor was thinking up the next training session. Ash really was turning out to be a trooper. After losing one's mother like he did, and nearly dying of Ekans venom, one would expect him to be depressed and demotivated. But, everything he'd been through of late seemed to just be spurring him on to push on.

"I must say, young Ash, you did really well with your first day of training. Nearly six hours of training with Machop and the only injuries worth noting are your black eye, and a small gaze on your arm." Ash smiled up at his adoptive grandfather, feeling pretty proud of himself.

"Thanks, Grampy. I know that mummy would be happy to hear that." He smiled. The professor got up from the table, and went to collect the post from that morning. He never went through his letters in the mornings. Too busy. Especially today, with Ash's training. The letters were all the usual. Bill, bill, bill, Pokémon League report, bill, a postcard from Professor Elm… and a letter addressed to 'Ashton Ketchum-Oak'. Someone's written a letter to Ash? Hm. How odd. Better check the stamp, see where it's from. The stamp depicts a Dewgong leaping out of the ocean, silhouetted by a sunset. The stamp's from Cerulean City. Someone must've heard about him on the news, and sent this letter to wish him well.

"Ash. You've got a letter." Professor Oak informed him, as he re-entered the kitchen. Ash turned round, with a look of surprise and curiosity in his eyes.

"Really? A letter?" He took the letter from Professor Oak, and was excused to his bedroom to read it. Ash got to his room, and laid down on the bed, staring at the letter as if it were an alien species of Pokémon. Slowly, he started to open the seal. As he slipped the sheet of paper out, he folded it, and started to read.

So there's chapter 3. Ash is now officially Ashton Ketchum-Oak, and is starting his training under his adoptive Grampy. Who sent the letter, I wonder. Do any of you have any ideas who it may be from? Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Keep your eyes open for chapter 4 next week.


	4. Two New Friends

Two New Friends

Ash read the letter in his hands intently. He'd never gotten a letter since his mother's death, so this was a surprise. The letter was written in very neat handwriting, fluidly joining letters, 'I's dotted with hearts, and full stops drawn as flowerheads. It was, obviously, a girl who wrote this letter. Even _Ash_ could tell you that, and he's _really_ oblivious to this sort of thing. The letter said thus;

'_Dear Ashton Ketchum-Oak_

_My name is MW. Sorry for not using my full name, but my three older sisters told me that I shouldn't give that kind of information to someone I don't know. But I don't think you're that much of a threat. You are __**my**__ age, afterall. Anyway, I'm writing to try and be your friend. I heard about what happened to you a few weeks ago on the news. I'm so sorry about your mummy. I can't imagine how sad you must've been when you found out. I can't believe Team Rocket would do such a mean thing. I hope you've weren't hurt too badly by them. I would really like it if we could be penfriends, because I don't have many friends here in Cerulean City, which is pretty boring._

_From,_

_MW._'

Ash smiled with happiness he hadn't felt in a while. He had someone out there who took it upon herself to write a letter to him, to try and make him happy. And not because anyone told them to, as well. That was really nice. It made Ash feel tingly inside. Someone cared. Well, if they cared that much, it's only fair to write back, isn't it? He ran to a desk in the corner of his room, sat in the chair, and picked out a sheet of paper and a blue pen. He thought about what to say to say to this mysterious MW, and started to write his note.

'_Dear MW,_

_Thank you for your letter. It really made me smile. Thank you for your concern, but I'm happy. Mummy would want me to be. It's nice to be able to contact someone my age, I don't have many friends either, aside from Gary. I'd like to be your penfriend, that'd be nice. I hope we can meet in person someday, though. Here's a little bit about me, so you know who I am._

_My name is Ashton, obviously, and Professor Oak has adopted me after Team Rocket attacked my house, making me Ashton Ketchum-Oak. My favourite colour is chestnut brown, as that's the colour my mummy always described my eyes as. My favourite song is Pokérap by James "D Train" Williams & Babi Floyd. I __**would**__ tell you my favourite type of Pokémon, but I like them all. Hope to get a letter back from you soon._

_From,_

_Ashton._'

He scanned the letter, to make sure he'd written all he wanted to say. He, then, pulled an envelope from his drawer, and wrote the return address that was written on the top of the letter that MW had sent him. Once he was confident the addresses matched, he folded up his letter, and slipped it into the envelope. After sealing the letter securely, he hurried downstairs, and explained to Professor Oak what he had received in the post. The professor smiled when he heard about someone had wanted to become friends with Ash. He'd need someone to give him some support. When Ash asked the professor if he could have a stamp for his own letter, the old man was more than happy to oblige. He stamped the envelope, and took it to the nearest post-box, and popped it in, smiling to himself knowing that Ash had someone to give him support from another town.

**The following day:**

Ash was out bright and breezy, walking around Pallet Town. This was a new stage of his training. He'd have to get up at 5 o'clock, eat a pre-prepared breakfast, and walk the distance of Pallet Town. He didn't mind that much. He was used to walking great distances with his mum. They'd walk together along the beach every weekend evening. It was Ash's favourite pastime with his mum. The summer Sun was starting to peak over the horizon on the East side of the town, bathing the sky in a shimmering orange glow, glinting and glistering like a giant amber stone. What very few, thin and wispy, clouds there were present in the pleasantly warm skyscape were tinged a soft and warming pink, making them look like floating candy floss floating in an orange smoothie – which, funnily enough, was something that Ash used to do at the summer fair (mix candy floss with his orange smoothie his mother would always buy him).

The streets were peacefully quiet, which was common, even when people were walking along the pathways, but the emptiness made it all the more soothing somehow. Ash knew this town like the back of his hand, so he had no issues with navigation in the area. He planned his route with Professor Oak back at the lab before he set off, and made sure it passed all his favourite spots. He started at the lab, and headed south to the beach, and walk along the length that he and his mother used to walk. After the beach, he made his way past where his house once stood – now a touching memorial ground for his mother. The house had been razed to the ground by the flames. Whenever he was pulled from the burning wreckage, Ash would never know. After passing his mother's new grave, his route took him past all his favourite streets and shops of Pallet Town. He passed the confectionary shop, where he remembered very vividly they had the sweetest tasting chocolate he'd _ever_ tasted in his life. They had all sorts of exotic flavours, from Cherubi Berry to Teddiursa Honey. He passed the bakery, where they always baked their bread to order. You'd pop in, order a loaf of your preferred bread of the day, and they'd have it cooked for you in minutes.

Walking through all these memory lanes gave Ash a mixture of feelings. Happiness at the good times these streets contained in their cobblestone floors. Comfort in the relaxing atmosphere that always radiated from the town's inner aura. But a tang of sadness at the memory that his mum was gone, and would never walk him down these roads again. He felt salt water starting to gather in the corners of his eyes, as he remembered his mum, and how she was always there for him if he needed her. If he came home crying, because he bumped his knee, she was there at his side with a bandage and a kiss, ready to make it all better. If he was having trouble with a puzzle, she'd sit beside him, and help him identify the pieces, before giving him the reins again over the task. She was always there in his times of need. But now… when he _really_ needed her more than he'd _ever_ need her for as long as he lives, even if he lives to be a hundred million years old… she wasn't there. And never would be.

Ash wiped his eyes, trying to think of the happy things about his mum, and not think of the fact that she couldn't be there for him anymore. As he looked up from his tears, he noticed a familiar forest up ahead. This was his halfway point, where the professor allowed Ash to rest if he needed it. And Ash _needed_ this spot for a little rest. Not because he was tired, he'd happily _sprint_ the rest of the journey back to the lab. But because he needed to correct his emotions. He jogged towards the forest, ducking and diving through the trees like a parkour master. Quickly, he made his way to the clearing he liked to sit in when he was upset or frustrated, or just needed to think to himself. There, in the middle of the clearing, was his special thinking stump. It used to be an old Oak tree, which was rumoured to have stood on this spot for a thousand years.

He took a seat on the old wood, and started to think to himself. He thought of Pallet Town, and the people who lived amidst its streets and buildings and cobblestone roads. And he remembered how friendly everyone was every day he and his mother went out on their special walks. And, every day they shared their special walks, the two of them would stop here, in this very clearing. He would sit here, thinking to himself, or playing with the local Pokémon, while his mother would go for a wander round the bushes and shrubbery, picking berries and fruits. She was always so good at picking the sweetest and juiciest fruits in these parts. Apparently, she learned a good amount of bushcraft when she was in the girl scouts. She had this special sling she made herself for collecting berries, and she always used it in this forest. One day, Ash asked his mother how she made it, and she told him she crafted it from the leaves of something called an 'Ensete ventricosum' – not that Ash could pronounce that – which were held together with a sticky tree resin. She even taught Ash how to make one himself. He sat a while longer, thinking of that day he made his first sling for gathering berries. His mother taught him how to identify the 'false banana' plant, as she called it for his benefit, and what tree to use the resin from for the glue. He surprised himself greatly that day. First, he had less of a job than he expected identifying the plants, and the actual making of the sling was easy, too. But remembering the teachings his mother gave him didn't give him as much comfort as it did heartache. Because one thing his mother would do on their special walks was bring him some of the fruit she'd collected, and leave it behind him quietly on a false banana leaf bowl, when he was really deep in thought. And knowing that she'd never be able to take a special walk with him anymore… the thought was too much. The tears he was slowly collecting began to fall, accompanied by soft, silent, sobs.

* * *

><p>A small figure was picking berries from a couple of bushes, not far from its favourite thinking spot in the nearby clearing. Hanging from the little character's shoulder was a small, handmade sling, made from false banana plant leaves and held together with sticky tree resin. The figure looked into its special pouch, and counted the berries he'd collected. The pouch was pretty full, so that would be enough berries to last a good week or so. The small character smiled to himself, and made his way to the clearing.<p>

As he approached, however, he sensed another presence. A second character already there. As he reached the edge of the clearing, the small figure ducked behind a cluster of ferns. As he peered out of the shrubbery, he could just about make out a shape of someone on the old Oak tree stump in the middle of the clearing. The hidden character squinted a bit, and stared inquisitively at the figure on the stump, and started to make out that it was… a human? What's a human doing here? He closed his eyes, and the two black appendages on the side of his head glowed a pale blue colour, sensing the human's emotions.

**Insight into Ash's thoughts;**

_It's a warm summer's day, and he's looking up at an adult human. She's pretty tall, and very beautiful. Her chestnut brown hair is tied up in a ponytail that drapes halfway down her back. They look to be on a beach, watching the summer sunset as it bathes the evening sky in a golden glow._

"_I love you, Mummy." We hear him say. 'Mummy'? What's a 'Mummy'? Is that, like, a human word for their female Meema? Suddenly, scene change! What in the name of Arceus is happening? There's fire _**everywhere!**_ And… oh no. No, please no. It can't be. Please, don't let it be. She lifts her face. Oh no. It's her. This… 'Mummy' human._

**Back in reality:**

The figure's eyes snapped open at the feeling of moisture. A paw dabs at the liquid, to find salt water. Tears. He looked up at the human in the clearing, and saw that _he_ was crying, too. Silently. Softly. Painfully. Whoever this… 'Mummy' was… she must've been very special to this human. The small figure inspects the weeping human, and finds that he looks about the same age as him. He's lost his mummy at 5 years old. Poor human. The character looks down at his little pouch of berries. He's collected more than he'd eat in the near future. Maybe he could share some with this human. See if it cheers him up. Slowly, he unfolds the leaf that he wraps around his pouch, and opens it out, making it bend into a sort of bowl shape. Sorting through his harvest of berries, he splits the collection he has into equal quantities. Gathering the half for himself, he slips them back into his pouch. The half that remains, he gathers into the bowl-shaped leaf, and starts to creep his way up to the human, trying not to make a sound as he sneaks behind the child, and places the leaf on the ground behind him.

Ash hears a faint rustling, followed by a few footfalls. A passing Pokémon, most probably. He continues with his thoughts of his mother, and imagining she's still with him. Soon, he realises the footfalls are headed _towards _him, not past. Quickly, he dries his eyes on the backs of his hands and turns to see who's approaching.

Nothing? There's no one there. How peculiar. Something, however, catches his eye on the floor. His glances down, and gasps as he spies a false banana leaf, folded into a bowl shape, lying on the floor behind him, piled full of freshly picked berries. Curious, the child swivels round on the stump, and eyes the bowl of fruit inquisitively.

From the edge of the clearing, the figure watched the human boy with interest. He seems surprised at the sudden appearance of the fruit. Mind you, that's probably common in humans, they might not have such acute senses as Pokémon do. The boy looks around the clearing, probably trying to spot whoever brought him this fruit. Better stay hidden, though.

"Hello?" Ash called out to the clearing. Who was it behind him? Who put this fruit here? And in exactly the same way his mother used to do, as well. No reply. Ash turned back to the fruit, piled neatly into the folded leaf. He made his way back to the tree stump, picking up the leaf – with a touch of precaution – as he passed. He sat down on the stump again, and returned to ogling the berries again. He glanced round one final time, to see if anyone would return to the clearing. When no one came, he picked up a Pecha berry, and popped it into his mouth, chewing delicately into the berry's soft, fuzzy skin. As the tender berry was punctured by the boy's teeth, the sweet inner juices squirted into his mouth, lapping over his tongue like a nectar-flavoured ocean, sending tingles of comfort down his spine through his taste buds.

From his hiding spot the second figure smiled at how happy the human now looked, as he started to tuck into the berries he left him. It made him happy to be able to cheer someone up. The character stood up from his leafy hiding spot, and walked off into the forest.

Ash finished eating the berries that were left for him, and was now getting ready to continue on his walk. But as he was making his way out of the clearing, there was the sound of a scream from deep in the forest. As soon as Ash heard the scream, and turned to face the direction in which it came, a blue and black fox-like creature came barrelling out of the shrubbery on the opposite side of the clearing from him. However, the little fox was so busy running, it wasn't looking where it was going, and ended up smashing face-first into Ash, sending the pair of them flying to the ground.

Ash unclenched his eyes, after noticing how tightly he'd screwed them shut from the impact.

The little blue fox pushed its face off the ground, and held its body up in the press-up position, slowly opening his eyes.

The pair of them froze when they saw who was before them. Ash looked up at the fox lying on top of him. And he looked down at the human child beneath him. The Pokémon was the same height as him, which was a foot taller than he should normally be. The first thing Ash noticed was the Pokémon's eyes. They were blue as sapphires… and full of apparent terror. The Pokémon gave a yelp, and leapt back from Ash, staring at him like he was the biggest, venom-spitting, Arbok on PokÉarth. And speak of the devil… in came crashing the _cause_ of the fox's blind panic. A giant, hissing, snarling Arbok. The second the serpent caught sight of the fox, it snarled evilly, licking its lips with its forked tongue.

When Ash's eyes fell upon the giant cobra, he froze solid as a rock in terror. Normally, Arbok measure in at three and a half metres long. _This_ brute was **double** that size. Its scales were golden, and its eyes were glinting evilly in the sunlight, red like fresh blood.

"Charbok." The snake growled, viciously, eyeing the trembling fox up and down with hungry eyes.

"Rio-" The fox gulped, and started backing away, clutching desperately at the little leafy pouch it wore strapped around its shoulder. Ash clocked the pack, and realised now where the mysterious bowl of berries came from. But now wasn't the time for thank-you's… this is get the flipping heck out of here!

The gargantuan Arbok lunged leapt forth towards the fox who managed to dive to the side at the last possible second, causing the snake to smash its skull against a rock where its target once stood. The fleeing Pokémon ran towards Ash, grabbed his hand in his paw, and dragged him away from the clearing as fast as the pair of them could run. Ash stared at the walking fox that was pulling him, in awe. He'd never seen a Pokémon like this before. What species was it? Where did it come from? Maybe the professor would know. Hey! The professor! This Pokémon wants to escape that Arbok, and they _are_ running in the direction Ash was going to complete his walk.

"Hey." Ash shouted, trying to get the frantic fox's attention. But the Pokémon was panicking so much it could only hear his own heartbeat _**pounding**_ in his eardrums. "HEY!" Ash shouted, louder. The fox turned to face him. "I know of a safe place. We can go there." The human child offered. Desperate to get away from that Arbok, no matter what it took, the fox nodded.

"Riolu." It agreed.

* * *

><p>The pair were just reaching the edge of the forest, where the trees met the edge of town.<p>

'Yes!' Ash thought to himself, hopefully. But his hope was to be immediately dashed. Their pursuer, the giant shiny Arbok, tore his way out of the soil beneath them, flipping the young defenceless infants into the air, sending them somersaulting to the grass. Ash glanced up, and started to quake in unearthly fear. The ghastly snake was bearing over him, fangs glinting, eyes hungry, tongue flickering. The boy could feel the snake's beady stare boring into him, making him want to scream in abject terror. But try as he might, his voice failed him. Caught in his throat like a starter Pokémon in its pokéball. The Cobra Pokémon was now just inches away from Ash. Even if he were able to jolt his terrified joints into movement to try and escape, the snake was bound to strike, and he'd be dead quicker than one can snap one's fingers. The terrified boy clenched his eyes shut, awaiting the feeling of fangs being plunged deer into his soft pink flesh. But it never came.

Ash's eyes snapped open upon hearing the sound of something whizzing through the air at high speed. His gaze became fixed on the Arbok that was once on top of him, now laying sprawled on the floor, after having a blue sphere smack into its face painted hood. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw the fox Pokémon standing behind him, paw raised – obviously the source of that blue sphere. The fox smiled at the boy, who breathed a sigh of relief, and whispered a thank you. However, the snake wasn't going down _that_ easily. The serpent coiled its long, scaly body into a tight spring, building up striking energy, staring the infants down. Riolu – as the fox figure shall now be called – growled as he saw the snake prepare for strike, and assumed a defensive position.

"CHAR!" The snake screeched, as it dove forward, fangs outstretched, ready to sink into Riolu's soft flesh. The small fox started to charge a ball of blue energy between his paws once more. As the giant cobra neared, he fired the orb into the hissing aggressor's jaws, blasting it into the dirt. Ash scrambled to his feet, and ran over to Riolu, smiling.

"Thanks." He sighs in relief. Riolu nodded, happily, in response. The pair were thrown apart, however, as Arbok emerged from the soil below them. The young were thrown onto their backs, rendering Riolu heavily injured, as it fell rather nastily on his shoulder blades.

The angered snake eyed the stricken fox, hungrily, licking its lips with the forked tongue its jaws held. With a glint in its eye, the snake dove towards its weakened target, fangs dripping venom, ready to deliver the final blow.

"NO!" Came an unearthly loud cry, and a raven haired human child, who came leaping behind Arbok, gripping onto its hood, and clinging on for dear life, as the now truly livid snake shook and bucked violently, forgetting about Riolu, trying to shake the pest. But the more the cobra shook and bucked, the tighter Ash held on, determined to protect the stricken Pokémon who was laying unconscious on the ground.

Just as Riolu regained consciousness, his eyes snapped wide open at the sight of Arbok slinging Ash off its back. The snake reared up, and spat a giant Toxic attack in the human's face. The child desperately scrubbed the purple goo from his face, choking and spluttering at the taste. He roll himself onto his belly, and pushed himself to his knees, staring wide-eyed at the coiled cobra, terror blazing through his russet orbs. The hissing serpent made a final lunge for Ash, intending to polish him off in a concluding strike. As it zeroed in on him, however, Ash clenched his eyes shut, giving a scream of terror. As he screeched, the young boy was enshrouded in a blue glow. Soon after, the glowing azure energy pulsed violently, sending out a vicious shockwave, which blasted into the serpent, sending it flying through the sky, disappearing into the distance in a sparkling twinkle.

The two male infants stood perfectly still, dumbfounded. Riolu gazed at the human wide-eyed, jaw to the floor. Ash stood looking at his hands, wondering what just happened. As they stood, Ash's muscles started to tire and strain, shaking now with the increasing effort to hold his body on his feet. The Toxic attack Ash was struck with was taking effect. He started feeling woozy, and groggy. He staggered, trying to find what little balance he may have left. Riolu dashed to the stricken human, and scooped him into his arms. The boy glanced up at the concerned Pokémon through half-open eyes, which were growing ever heavier. He managed to raise a weak, and trembling, finger to point towards the Pokémon Research Lab of Professor Oak.

"My… Grampy… lives there." He struggled to croak through the poison that was slowly claiming his body. "Take me… there. Please." Riolu nodded, and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh no. Ash's luck with poisonous snake Pokémon is pretty bad, isn't it? Will he be fixed in time <em>this<em> time? Tune in next week to find out.**


	5. Newfound Strength

**Salvador here folks. And I have a new chapter for you. Hope you like it. Enjoy.**

* * *

><p><span>Newfound Strength<span>

Riolu charged through the streets of Pallet Town, eyes glued on the large building the human pointed to. Every few seconds, he'd steal a glance at the boy who lay shivering in his arms before refocusing on his destination. This human had risked his life for him. He couldn't let him die now. Not now. Not after what he's been through. Plus… something about him feels… special. Like… an energy that his Meema had taught to him. Was this a human who could control…? The thought kept rewinding and replaying in his mind all the way up to the large wooden doors of the lab.

* * *

><p>As Riolu snapped away from his thoughts, and blinked back into reality, he stared up at the daunting wooden doors as if they were huge bombs. The small fox gulped, glancing back down at the child in his arms, who was now beginning to sweat. He looked back up at the doors, and focused on the large brass knocker above his head. He focused his vision, then lifted the large metal ring with his aura, allowing it to slam against its rest to clang as loud as a screeching Whismur, alerting anyone inside to the arrival.<p>

Slowly, the door creaked open, and out stepped a large human with platinum, near white, hair came to the door. The human wore a red shirt and beige trousers, with a white coat draped over his shoulders. He had a kind face, but his expression quickly dropped at the sight of Riolu holding Ash in his arms before him. Riolu, instinctively, recoiled defensively, holding onto Ash a tiny bit harder, as if her were a child being threatened with his favourite toy being confiscated. But the man's expression wasn't one of anger, or accusation. It was one of worry and concern.

"Ash…" He breathed, unbelievedly – as if he couldn't bring himself to accept the sight of the sweating, now slowly convulsing, human boy in the Pokémon's arms. "What happened to him?" The man asked the fox. The tiny Mon lifted its gaze to meet the concerned man's, and pulled a face to imitate an Arbok. "An Arbok attacked him?" The human adult gasped, which Riolu replied with a nod. "We better get him in, and treat him as soon as we can." The man exclaimed, hurriedly. He sidestepped, allowing Riolu to usher himself into the lab. After closing the door, the man showed Riolu to the medical bay, walking pretty spritely for a human of his age.

* * *

><p>The blue fox sat on the foot of the bed, sitting on his knees, looking over at the small, weakened, human child who had, but half an hour ago, saved his life. His eyes were closed and his mouth was still. He looked like he was just having a peaceful lie-in. But he wasn't. He was, and there's no other way of putting this, on the verge of a coma. From what Riolu had heard from the older human, who was frantically looking at readouts and Monitors not far away, this was like a human version of 'fainting'. But there were some fatal differences. From what he'd heard, Riolu could guess that fainting… well, it sucked for him. But… it sucked even more for humans. Apparently, the longer a human stays fainted, the less likely they are to wake up again. The little Pokémon shuffled himself forward, so he was now kneeling by Ash's side. He crawled his little paw, timidly, down to rest on one of Ash's hands. The skin felt smooth and soft behind his fur-covered paw. But it felt a little cool. Too cool, maybe. The fox was pulled out of his thoughts and back to reality by the soft flickering of Ash's eyelids, and a light – croaky – moan he was able to squeak out.<p>

Slowly, Ash managed to wriggle his torso up and off the sterile white mattress on the medical bed he was rested on. He sat himself up, and leaned against the headboard, colleting his thoughts. Riolu's little ears perked up in happiness, as he couldn't help but beam at the recovered child before him. Professor Oak had noticed Ash waking up as well, and he made his way to the bed, popping a thermometer into Ash's mouth, and resting a glass of water on his bedside table.

"How are you, Ash?" He cooed, softly. In response, Ash just moan softly, and flopped his head into his hands.

"Like I've been headbutted by a Tauros." He whined, gently circling his tiny fingers round his tender temples. Riolu sat himself next to the child, and pulled him into a soft hug, patting the reeling child softly on the back. Ash returned the hug, not quite awake enough to take in the fact he was being hugged by a fox. Professor Oak couldn't help but observe the scene before him in great curiosity. This Pokémon – Riolu, was it? – seemed to feel quite connected to Ash already. The professor had only ever heard of Riolu through his old friend and colleague Professor Rowan, as Riolu are meant to be native to Sinnoh only.

Slowly, Ash pulled himself out of the hug he and Riolu had been sharing, and slowly opened his blissfully closed eyes. As his vision cleared, and he could clearly see Riolu's face, his eyes snapped wide open in surprise. He was struck stone dumb by the sight before him. There, before him, was a small, blue fox Pokémon, about as tall as him, looking deeply into his eyes.

"Riolu." The fox chirruped, smiling happily at the sight of Ash recovered from that Arbok's Toxic attack.

"I remember you." Ash whispered, airily. "You must be the one who left those berries for me." The Emanation Pokémon blushed, and nodded in confirmation. Ash's eyes started to well a little, and a small smile slowly snuck its way onto his lips. "Nobody's ever done something like that for me, except my mummy." He sniffled, joyously. Riolu misinterpreted the boy's tears, and thought it had upset him. He looked away from the child, and made to jump from the bed. He was stopped in his tracks, however, when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck, softly but firmly, pulling him into a hug. Ash smiled as he nuzzled his cheek into the soft, fuzzy fur on the back of Riolu's head. As he let go of the pleasantly surprised Mon, he slipped himself out of the bed covers, and sat cross legged on the mattress.

"So… what's your name?" He asked, sweetly.

"Riolu." The fox cheeped, smiling happily at the boy before him.

"Riolu, huh? Cute name." Ash beamed, making the Pokémon blush. He held out a hand. "Nice to meet you. My name's Ash." He introduced. Riolu stared at Ash's hand, quizzically, wondering what he was holding it out for. Ash saw the curious look on the Mon's face. "Oh. You don't understand handshakes, do you?" The Pokémon baby shook his head. "Well, just hold my hand with your paw…" Ash instructed, reaching a little further towards Riolu's paw. Slowly, Riolu lightly gripped Ash's hand, and the human child lifted their hands up and down a few times, demonstrating a human handshake. "And that's a handshake." He chimed, a satisfied smile adorning his sweet face.

"Lu." Riolu cooed, feeling rather satisfied that he'd learned something new.

"This Riolu is rather unusual." Professor Oak mused, scratching his chin with his thumb and index finger. "For a start, he's the same height as you. Riolu are normally little over two foot high." Ash stared in awe at the fox, who only cocked his head, curiously. "And he seems so familiar with you, my boy." The Pokémon professor further mused, humming under his breath in deep thought. "I wonder…" He muttered to himself. After a little contemplation, Oak sat down on the bed, scooping up the two infants that were sat before him, and plonking the pair of them down onto his lap. "Did anything happen between you two when that Arbok attacked?" Ash wondered why the professor would be asking such a question out of the blue, but still mulled over his reply.

"You mean… like something weird?" He enquired, not quite clear on what the professor was looking for as a response.

"Yes. Did anything strange happen?" Ash went back to contemplating his answer. He could remember the attack. He could remember being struck with Toxic. But… beyond that… nothing. No memory after that at all.

"All I remember is seeing Arbok going to attack me after it poisoned me. But… then… I don't remember any more than that." The boy looked at Riolu. "Do _you_ know what happened, Riolu?"

The Pokémon fidgeted a bit, twiddling his paws, as if conflicted as to whether he should answer of not. He could feel the curious stares of the two humans bore into him, as if searching for the answers alone. Riolu's gaze fell upon Ash's midsection. It looked so flat, and smooth. Maybe he could show them what he could see in Ash with his aura energy. He leaned over to Ash, and pressed a paw to the boy's abdomen. The boy gave a short, sharp gasp of surprise, but was instantly silenced when he noticed his tummy was glowing in a light blue hue. He looked up at the professor with a touch of worry in his eyes. He wasn't hurting, but he was a little nervous as to what was going on.

"Grampy? What's happening to me?" His wavering voice enquired. Oak looked into the child's eyes and gasped in surprise. His eyes were glowing in the same shade of azure as his belly was.

"Ash. Don't be alarmed. But your eyes are glowing blue." Terror overtook the boy's face upon hearing this.

"What does that mean, Grampy?" He asked frantically, tugging hard at the collar of the professor's lab coat.

"Well… there's only one theory I can deduce from this, Ash." Professor Oak stated. The slightly panicked child looked into his eyes, expectantly. "And that is that you have a very strong aura."

* * *

><p>Ash sat on the plushie sofa in the living room, wrapped in his favourite Pikachu face printed blanket, gripping onto a mug of hot chocolate. Next to him sat Riolu, staring in awe at his own mug of brown liquid, swilling it quizzically. Across from them sat the professor, sipping slowly from his mug of chamomile tea. Riolu sniffed his hot chocolate, then gave it a curious lick. His eyes sparkled at the sweet taste that caressed his taste buds, and he downed half the mug immediately. Ash couldn't help but giggle over how giddy the young fox Pokémon got over a little hot chocolate. It was pretty cute, actually. He took a sip from his own hot chocolate, then turned his eyes to Professor Oak.<p>

"So, Grampy? What do you mean by me having a strong aura?" The professor looked up from his cuppa, and drew a fair breath, ready to try and explain to Ash what aura is.

"Aura, dear boy, is the living essence within all things. Humans, Pokémon, flowers, trees… even rocks." Professor Oak explained. Ash cocked his head, giving the professor a look that made him think he'd grown a third head.

"Rocks have a living essence in them?" Ash enquired incredulously.

"It's hard to believe, Ash. I know. But it's true. Everything in the world possesses a living essence. So, in a way, everything on the planet is alive in its own right." Ash blinked, soaking in the idea that even a rock was a living thing. "Aura is one of the strongest forces in the known world." The professor continued. "But very few things can ever fully utilise their aura's true power. Pokémon like Riolu and its evolved form, Lucario, are able to use their aura very freely. They can use aura to defend, attack and even locate other individuals, as well as reading their thoughts and intentions." Ash's eyes fell upon Riolu again, who was sipping away happily at his hot chocolate. "If my theory is correct, I think Riolu feels a close connection to you, Ash. And I think it wants to help you."

Riolu, having heard what the professor had suggested, blushed into his mug of chocolate, and turned his face away from Ash to hide the glowing red on his snout. Ash noticed the glow, however, and crawled closer towards the, suddenly, shy fox.

"Is that true, Riolu?" Ash quizzed, curiosity burning in his eyes. Slowly, Riolu turned to face the child, and nodded. Ash beamed in joy, and engulfed the fox in a hug. Riolu sat in surprise for a second, but soon returned the embrace. Ash couldn't help but feel comforted by the soft, fuzzy sensation he got from nestling deep into Riolu's blue hued fur, and how much like berries he smelled. After a while, the children separated. Ash looked deeply into Riolu's eyes, smiling the biggest smile he's smiled for a fair while. "Are you going to teach me how to use my aura like you can?" Riolu's eyes sparkled at the question. Honoured to have been asked to mentor the child, he quickly accepted.

"Well. It looks like we've got an extra bit of training for you in the future, then Ash." The professor smiled, happy to see the hope Ash was famous for back in his eyes. "I'll let you and Riolu get acquainted, and I'll teach you more about aura tomorrow." And with that, the professor left the two children to play in the living room, while he made his way to the lab's library.

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><p><strong>OK. I hope you liked this chapter. Now, an announcement or two, but please hear me out. I've been asked once or twice what pairing I'm going to use. I already have a pairing in mind, all set up for Ash in a later chapter. A MUCH later chapter. But I'd like to do some shipping soon, as well. I'd like ideas from you, the readers, in the reviews. I don't normally ASK for reviews, because I feel like that makes me whiney. But, in this case, I'm asking. I'd like you all to suggest a pairing you'd like to see; (I'd like to see some pairings for Misty and Brock in particular). Please note; I may not use all pairings, and some pairings I take onboard may be onesided. Pairings involving Ash are welcome, but I may not follow them. I may, however, do a fair bit of one onesiding with the Ash pairings, and make something of it later.<strong>

**One more thing. I'm now trying to write an interactive fiction. It's called Truth or *Girly scream*. It's a truth or dare fiction where the readers can write questions or dares for the characters of the anime, manga and game worlds of Pokémon. If you like fictions where the reader holds the key to the characters' fates, please do check it out.**

**Well, that's this week's update, everyone. Hope you liked it. Next chapter, Ash starts to learn the power of aura. Until then... take care. Ta-ra.**


	6. Linking with Aura

**Hello everyone, I'm back. And thank you all for your overwhelming support. A brief shout out to Chosen-One-92. I don't mind at all how long your reviews are, I don't find them rambly at all. In fact, I prefer reviews as long as yours, I learn more to improve on that way. So, everyone who reviews my fiction, thank you all. You don't HAVE to write a page-long review, but it helps me to learn what you like, dislike, and what you guys think needs improvement. Now, enough chin-wagging from me. On with the story.**

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><p><span>Linking with Aura<span>

Ash was wide awake, and stroking the soft fur on Riolu's head, as the Pokémon was still asleep in his bed. Yesterday was hectic. He'd gone for a walk, had been left berries in his thinking clearing, got poisoned – _again!_ – by a Mewdamned snake Pokémon, and met a new friend, and (soon-to-be) mentor, in Riolu, a Pokémon that shouldn't even be present in the Kanto region. Not to mention his newfound aura power, whatever that was. But… something tells him he's going to find out today. As Ash was mindlessly stroking Riolu's head, the Emanation Pokémon squirmed, comfortably, and unconsciously wrapped his little blue arms around him, pulling the child into a hug. Ash could feel the heat sweep across his face as the fox began to nuzzle him like a stuffed toy, purring softly. He looked down at the dog Pokémon's closed eyes and noticed a contented smile adorning his cheeks. Ash found the smile very contagious and couldn't help but deepen the hug smiling to himself, comfortable in the heat he was sharing with his new companion.

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><p>In the professor's office, he was reading the last page of his tenth book on the many theories, myths and legends on aura. He'd learned about as much as he was going to learn from these silly things. No one, really, understands aura unless they're able to sense or use it anyway. This is going to be one topic the professor's just gonna have to take a backseat on. He can tell Ash the stories and legends, and the theories and principals, but that won't necessarily help him with learning how to fully utilise his own aura powers. For that, he's going to need the help of that Riolu. That was the <em>second<em> reason Professor Oak was up all night last night. Not only was he brushing up on theories and legends surrounding the mysterious phenomenon of aura, but he had also put in a call to Professor Rowan from Sinnoh. Rowan himself seemed rather confused as to why a Riolu would be living in the Kanto region, and promised he'd try to come up with a theory as to how the little one got to the Kanto region in the first place. Professor Oak had worked tirelessly to understand what he needed to teach Ash before he started training with the young Mon that helped to save the poor child's life for, what had been, the second time in his short time on this Earth.

The professor was, understandably, tired, but he couldn't allow himself a moment to sleep now. Ash was probably awake by now. And, being a Ketchum, he was most probably itching to get his newfound skills tested out. With this in mind, he made his way along the hallways down to Ash's bedroom. Slowly, he opened the door and peeked inside. Sat on the bed was Ash and Riolu. Riolu was producing small blue spheres between his paws and shattering them into miniature firework for Ash's amusement.

'How peculiar.' The professor mused at the sight before his aged eyes. 'I always assumed that Riolu were incapable of using aura based attacks until they became Lucario.' The old researcher scratched his chin, thoughtfully. 'Perhaps there's more this little one than meets the eye.' A soft smile swept across the man's features. 'Much like my little Ash, really.' His eyes met the ceiling as he leaned his head back in pride. 'You must be so proud, Delia.' After wiping away a small tear that managed to ooze its way out of his eye, he made his presence known to the young friends in the room.

He entered the room, with a large smile on his face. When the child and Mon noticed him, they smiled back, happily.

"Hello, boys." The professor welcomed.

"Morning, Grampy." Ash smiled, holding his arms out for a morning hug. Chuckling, the professor walked over to the bed and picked the boy up, whizzing him round in a circle, for a lap or two, like a plane, before embracing the giggling child in a cuddle. After a couple of seconds, Ash tugged himself away from the professor's arms. "So, am I gonna learn about aura today, Grampy?" He chirped, excitably.

"That's right Ash." Professor Oak chuckled. He looked down at Riolu, who was still sat on the bed, gazing up at him, curiously. He knelt down to Riolu's eye level, still holding Ash against his hip. "Do you want to help me teach Ash about aura Riolu?" He grinned.

"Ri Rio!" Chirruped a wide-eyed – beaming – Riolu, happy to have been offered with the chance to help his special new friend. Professor Oak offered Riolu his spare arm, into which the excited fox bound, securing a perch for himself in the old man's grasp. And with that, the professor rose to his feet – with surprising ease (despite the carrier load) – and made his way out from Ash's room to the training gym.

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><p>Riolu peered round the gym in awe. The room was massive! And all these weird and wonderful contraptions that lined the walls scattered about in neat patterns. Is this how humans get most of their exercise? Wow. It's a wonder why quite a number of them are deemed 'unhealthy' by others, if they've got these things to enhance their bodies. His eyes took a rest from scanning his surroundings to take notice of Ash and the professor. Professor Oak had a picture of a man from a far off kingdom, he thought the professor called it Cameran Palace (but he wasn't listening all that much), situated somewhere here in the Kanto region. The man in the picture wore a pair of blue gauntlets, with a matching cape, and held a staff that looked like a Lucario's head.<p>

"This man was called Sir Aaron." Professor Oak announced to the awestruck boy before him. "In legends, he was a great knight, known as an aura guardian." From the tone of his voice, one could tell the professor had opted to use his fatherly, storyteller's, voice rather than his professor of knowledge lecturer voice, to help prevent against Ash snoozing of, I'll wager.

After about ten minutes of talking about the theories and legends surrounding aura, Professor Oak summoned Riolu over to Ash and himself.

"OK, Riolu. From what I've studied about aura, a trainer and Pokémon with a strong connection, like an emotional link, between each other can form, what's known as, an 'aura bond'. Am I correct?" Riolu nodded in confirmation, and turned to face Ash. It was apparent from the look on his face that he had no clue what an aura bond is.

"What does aura bond mean, Grampy?" He inquired, innocently. Professor Oak turned to him, about to answer, but Riolu raised a paw to stop him.

"You'd rather demonstrate it to him, wouldn't you?" The professor asked, with a knowing smile on his face. Riolu tread towards Ash, with a soft look on his features, intending to push aside all doubts he knew were in Ash's mind and all his fear of what was to come next.

Riolu pulled Ash into a hug, to show his support and guidance, and to settle the nervous child. When he felt Ash was relaxed enough, he opened his eyes, and pulled Ash out of the embrace, gazing into his auburn orbs. Using his aura energy, Riolu's eyes began to glow like living sapphires in his head. Ash found himself frozen. Stuck like a statue staring deeply into two, actually rather cute, sapphires that seemed to have replaced Riolu's eyes. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but for some reason he didn't want to stop the proceedings. Soon, Ash's eyes began to glow, shining deep, rich gold in colour. The professor couldn't help but stare in wonderment and awe at the sight, as gold gaze met sapphire, and an energy from both stares started to radiate towards the opposite, mingling together like rope being woven.

After a few seconds of weaving and threading, the energies poured into the boys' eyes, and their glows faded away, until they were normal again. Finally, Ash found himself able to pull away from Riolu, panting and gasping from shock and surprise. He was so shaken by the experience that he could only stare curiously at Riolu, wondering how to make a sentence again.

"What was that?" He asked, just about reclaiming control over his tongue. Riolu gave him a cheery smile.

'That was me creating an aura bond with you, Ash.' Came a voice. The voice was young, and a little husky, like a cartoon dog voice. Ash squealed in horror at the voice, and leapt as high as he is tall into the air. When he landed, he scurried as far back from Riolu as he could possibly get, before ending up with his back pressed up against a wall. Riolu tilted his head, curiously, and started to walk his way towards Ash, despite the squeaks of protest he gave with each step. As he neared the boy, he crouched down in front of him, and rested a paw on his shoulder, making Ash squeal again.

"H-how are you talking!" Ash demanded, terror lacing his words.

'Well, I'm not _really_ talking, Ash.' Riolu, as I'm sure you've guessed this is Riolu 'talking' (unless you're a derpington), replied. 'It's my aura abilities. I made an aura bond with you, which means our auras are now shared. This gives me the ability to talk you telepathically – and you to me, too. With a little bit of training, we'll be able to share all kinds of fun and neat-o powers and abilities and strengths with each other, including the abilities to levitate and teleport.' The fox cheered, jumping up and down with growing excitement. Ash, however, was… a little less enthusiastic. He turned to Professor Oak, still looking like he'd seen a ghost in a scary, rotting haunted mansion.

"Grampy I'm scared." He whined, clutching his shirt in his little fingers. "What's going on?" The professor gave a curious look.

"I don't know, because whatever's going on I'm not clued in." He responded. Ash told the professor that he heard Riolu talking, and that he told him that by making an aura bond, they could share powers and strengths. "Ah." He mused, now slightly more in the loop than before. "Well, in that case, I know exactly what Riolu's done."

"What's Riolu done? Is it dangerous?"

"Not at all, my boy." The professor reassured the boy, chuckling slightly at his innocent ignorance. "All Riolu's done is linked your aura signatures together. An aura signature is the unique pattern that an individual's aura possesses, which gives them their own individual identity and power. So, in a way, you could probably call it a DNA code for aura." Ash, who had been listening intently, seemed to calm down at the explanation of what had happened between him and Riolu.

"So now, me and Riolu are connected together?" He chirped, gleefully. The professor nodded, giving a hearty chuckle at how easily the bot's mood changed from one of fear to one of joy and elation. "YAY!" Ash squealed, leaping for absolute joy. He scampered to his feet, beamed widely at Riolu now. "That sounds _so_ cool, Riolu." He said, making the pup blush.

'Well yeah, I guess it is.' He admitted, smiling. 'Aura bonds are pretty cool, and also very helpful. Right now, we can only use one power together; telepathy. But, given time and practise, we can use all sorts of skills and abilities that can let the whole world know how powerful we are.' At these words, Ash had a thought come over him.

'_Or maybe even get back at Team Rocket for what they did to me and Mummy_.' He mused in his head, fighting back a snarl of distain at the memory. He shook the thoughts from his head, and smiled sweetly at Riolu and the professor. "So, am I gonna learn how to make a ball of aura?"

'It's called an aura sphere, Ash.' Riolu corrected. 'And yes. All we need is a target. Something that we can hit as hard as we like and it won't be easily broke.'

The solid stone target was set up. It was a giant disc, which very much resembled an archery target.

'Alright, Ash.' Riolu said, sizing up the target. 'I'll show you a basic aura sphere, and then I'll teach you how to make one yourself.' And with that, the fox closed his eyes, and extended a paw towards the target. Soon, a blue sphere formed in its grasp, growing slowly larger. When the sphere reached to be the size of Riolu's paw, the Mon released the orb into the air, flying straight towards the bullseye centre of the stone disc. Within seconds, the ball crashed into the surface of the target, blasting in a blue sheen, before fading away into nothingness. The target was undamaged, by there was a fair amount of ash from the explosion left behind. Ash stared at the, cosmetic, damage in awe. 'Now it's your turn, Ash.' Riolu barked. 'Let me teach you.'

Ash made sure he was paying the closest attention he could. He was _not_ going to miss a detail and, possibly, cause disaster with an aura sphere gone awry. 'OK.' Riolu ordered, sounding very much like an army general. 'I hope you realise, Ash, that using aura is not like combing your hair, or brushing your teeth. You don't learn how to do it straight away. It takes a little bit more practise. And I'm gonna help you practise. So… here's how we'll start. First, aim your hand at the target.' He instructed, demonstrating with his paw. Ash followed the fox's lead, and raised a hand towards the target. 'Now close your eyes.' Again, Ash complied. 'Now. I want you to imagine a ball. A small ball in your head. Like a small light, about the size of a light bulb.' And, sure enough, Ash started to see a little light bulb sized glow in his head, shining in radiant gold. 'And now, I want you to think of it as an energy inside you. Feel the energy from that ball bubble away in the bottom of your tummy.' So Ash imagined the energy boiling in his tummy. As he did, he could actually _feel_ the buzzing and bumping of something bubbling in his abdomen. And, for once, it wasn't him being hungry. 'Now imagine telling that energy to go to your fingers, and start to grow in the palm of your hand.' Ash concentrated on all his energy rising through his belly, past his chest, and into his hand. And very slowly, a golden aura sphere began to sprout from the palm of the child's hand. 'And release!' Riolu ordered. Ash found his eyes snapping open as he forced the sphere of gold forward. The ball lurched from his fingertips, and raced towards the stone target. Upon impact, the sphere burst, causing a shower of sparks to rain everywhere, fizzling and crackling as they fell.

Riolu, Professor Oak and Ash all gazed at the spectacle in wonderment. Ash gazed at his hand, wondering how he could have pulled off such an impressive first attempt. Riolu gave a proud smirk, and turned to Ash with an approving look on his canine face. 'Very good, Ash.' He congratulated. 'Very good indeed. But we have a _lot_ more training to do, if you're ever going to learn how to master your aura like Sir Aaron.' Ash nodded, excitedly, and the children got back to training. As they spent the day working on Ash's aura sphere attacks, Professor Oak couldn't help but feel a great wave of pride wash over him, as if Ash was his own flesh and blood. A tear of happiness welled in his aged eye as he thought of how proud Delia would've been if she could see her little Ashy now. He may only be five years old. But Ash was changing quickly. He was growing up fast. And, one day… all these changes will amount to something… truly and utterly amazing.

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><p><strong>Now, everyone... I appreciate the help and advice you all gave me last chapter. Now I'd like to ask another question or two. First off, I now have a few pairing ideas knocking about in my head, but I think too many of them are mainstream. Have any of you got any ideas of unusual, bizarre, or underneverused pairs and shippings that you'd like to see happen? For example...; Brock and a Team Rocket operative. They can be as ludicrous as you like, as long as they're not pervy. And, I was thinking about making the rating on this fiction go up to M. What does everyone think? I know that it might make the fiction slightly harder to discover for authors who haven't found this fiction already but I feel that I could be a little more graphic with the future destruction Team Rocket operatives later on. And I think I could be a little more... adult... of sorts in a few other areas as well, if I deem it suitable. So, yeah. Please review, or PM me, and let me know your answers everyone, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. See you all next week. Bye for now.**


	7. Ash's Psychic Serpent Supporter

**Hello everyone. Salvador again. And now with a newly 'M' rated Revenge of Ashton Ketchum-Oak. A big thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter. Arkarian23, thank you for your ideas, and I'm surprised you were reading my fiction at a late hour. But I'm flattered. Chosen-One-92, I _have_ been considering your input regarding my fiction; I consider ALL input, and I plan to use as much input I recieve as I can in this story. And Bunny153539, _this_ is the chapter we meet Ash's 3rd Pokémon, which I've had planned for a good fortnight or so. Now, time for a little chapter reading...**

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><p><span>Ash's Psychic Serpent Supporter<span>

It had been two years since Ash had lost his mother, at the tender young age of only five years old. But, since then, he found support being given to him from all directions. He was adopted by Professor Oak. He and Gary became the best of friends, and particularly share a brotherly bond. He kept very strong contact with his penfriend, the mysterious MW, and found an amazing friend and teacher in his first Pokémon, Riolu. His life had just been getting better and better. But he never forgot that he still had a score to settle.

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><p>Seven year old Ashton Ketchum-Oak was in the training gym, powering through his daily training regime. He was now training his midday self-defence skills with the professor's Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan. By now, he had completely mastered every technique they taught him, including a few that were only to be used in life and death situations. But he never stopped his training, he always felt like there was more to learn, and more to train for.<p>

He stood in the wrestling arena, casually dabbing the half a dozen sweat beads he had on his forehead with a bone-dry flannel he had waiting at the side of the ring. He continued to stare down his mentors, who were panting fairly heavily for breath now, having been given a damn good run for their money from their young student. Mockingly, Ash leaned casually against the ropes on his side of the arena, lifting a lackadaisical hand to taunt them towards him with two fingers. The Hitmons smirked at this gesture, pride in their student overflowing within them, as they surged forth towards him, in a last chance bid to overpower him. But it ended as expected. A roundhouse kick from Hitmonlee was ducked, a barrage of jabs from Hitmonchan was parried, and both Pokémon were floored by a single, finishing, blow to the stomachs. The Pokémon doubled over, showing their submission to their pupil. Ash smiled, and bowed courteously, and went to collect his water bottle from his corner.

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><p>Once his, rather purple, Pokémon teachers were safely deposited into the infirmary room, where Professor Oak's Chansey would take care of them, Ash headed to the kitchen for some lunch. He rummaged through the kitchen cabinets, and pulled out a few ingredients. Positioning a couple of chairs and stools around the kitchen, Ash began cooking himself some special fried rice and aromatic Psyduck. He made sure to cook some extra, because Gary was sure to smell it and want some later. With his cooking finished, Ash plated up his serving, washed up what he wasn't using for now, and sat at the kitchen table to eat.<p>

He was halfway through his lunch when Professor Oak entered, sieving through a handful of envelopes that had popped through the door. When he noticed Ash sitting at the table eating, he smiled at him, and made his way to the table, taking a seat next to him.

"Hey there, Ash. Made your own lunch again, I see." He smiled. Because Ash had a mouthful of food, and had learned good table manners very well, he nodded his head, before swallowing his mouthful to address his adoptive grandfather properly.

"Yes, Gramps. I hope you don't mind." The professor chuckled kindly, and shook his head, smiling.

"I don't mind at all, Ash. It does my heart good to see that you're being a little more independent. I'm sure you'll make a fine Pokémon trainer in three years' time, my lad." He complimented, making the boy blush as he ruffled his raven hair. The professor went back to sifting through the post, when an all-too-familiar handwriting, addressed to Ash, popped up, making the old man smile. "Well, it looks like you've got another letter from your girlfriend, Ash." The old man smirked.

Ash nearly choked on a mouthful of rice at the g word, making the professor chuckle victoriously. Quickly, Ash regained his composure, and pouted.

"She's not my _girl_friend. She's my _pen_friend." He protested. "Who happens to be a girl." He then admitted, not allowing his pout to falter.

"I was only teasing, Ash." Professor Oak chuckled, sliding the letter across to the boy. "But I must say, I'm glad you found a female companion. Maybe you could meet her one day. How old did she say she was?"

"My age. A week younger."

"Well, I think you two would get on like a Shellder and a Slowpoke." Professor Oak chimed. And with that, he stood from his chair, and excused himself to his office. When the professor was gone, Ash finished his lunch, washed up, and left for his room with his letter from MW.

'_Dear Ashton,_

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><p><em>I've got some awesome news… I CAUGHT A GOLDEEN TODAY!<em> _I'm _so_ happy right now. I've always wanted a Goldeen of my own. So now I have my Staryu and my newly caught Goldeen. How are you and Riolu? It looked really cute in the picture you sent me. I can't believe that he's the same age as you. I really hope I get to see him when you pass through Cerulean City on your journey. I'm assuming you want to challenge the Indigo Plateau when you turn ten. I'm sure it'll be __**me**__ you face at the Cerulean Gym, and not my lazy, show-off sisters. They hardly ever battle, unless they're left with no other option. Also, I'm curious as to what Pokémon you think you may choose as your starter. Personally, I how you don't choose Bulbasaur, because I'll never stand a chance against you in battle if you do. But, it's your choice, so I'll just have to accept whatever Pokémon you choose to begin your journey with. Anyway… I gotta go. Hope to get another letter from you soon._

_MW.'_

Ash smiled at the letter. He was really enjoying talking to MW, whoever she is. She was like a sister to him, who seemed to care a lot about him. Much like a little mother figure. Ash sat on his bed, thinking of the conversations he'd had with MW so far. Together, they discussed their hometowns, their favourite Pokémon types and species, their favourite battling strategies, and their future dreams and ambitions. Ash had, very politely, omitted the fact that he aimed to slaughter any Team Rocket members he may encounter on his Pokémon journey, and instead excused his lifelong dream to be to become the greatest Pokémon Master there ever was. MW, on the other hand, said that her life's dream was to become the greatest _water_ Pokémon Master there ever was. Ash couldn't help but smile at this dream. MW always sounded so passionate about water Pokémon in her letters to him.

'_Dear MW,_

_Well done on catching that Goldeen. I can't wait to see it, and possibly battle against it when I pass your way. I hope I can battle you with Riolu, but Gramps says he doesn't think he can let me start my Pokémon journey with him, as he's not native to the Kanto region, and it'd put me at an unfair advantage. But, he's told me that I may be allowed to take Riolu with me if I defeat the first three or four gyms of the region. But, I promise you I'll come straight back to Cerulean when I get Riolu on my team to battle you with him. As for my starter Pokémon, I really don't know which one I want to get. Bulbasaur would be a study choice, as it can take a few hard blows before becoming weak, but it does have the disadvantage on speed. Charmander might be and OK option, despite the type disadvantage I hear it has against the first two gyms in the Kanto region, but it does have a very high attack stat. And Squirtle would be a good defensive Pokémon to use, but it's not as strong as Bulbasaur and Charmander when it comes to attack stats. I've got to go now. Gramps, Gary and I are going to the beach now for a picnic. Hope to get a letter back soon._

_Ashton.'_

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><p>Ash, Professor Oak, Gary and Riolu set up the picnic supplies on a nice little patch of sand. Not too close to the tide, but not so dry that they'd end up with true <strong>sand<strong>wiches. The boys were told by the professor to go on a scavenger hunt for him. They always enjoyed their scavenger hunts, the professor made them look for all sorts of weird and wonderful objects. And he always had a prize for them all at the end. Always chocolate. They all went out onto the sands of the beach with buckets in hand, and a list of objects to retrieve.

"A beach stone with a hole right through it." Gary read from his slip of paper. Knowing the best place to find a stone that had had a hole worn through it, he dashed to the edge of the tide, and started inspecting every pebble – _literally_ leaving no stone unturned.

'A piece of seaweed that resembles a Pokémon.' Riolu found on his list. He looked up from the paper to find a rock pool not too far before him. He dashed towards it, and started pawing gently through the strands of slimy weeds in the water, looking for a Pokémon-shaped plant.

Ash, meanwhile, had set off in hot pursuit of a starpiece. Starpieces were fairly common on the beach but, all the same, hard to find. So, he reasoned, it'd make sense to get the harder things out the way first, then pick up the abundant things at the end. So he pulled his bucket out of his favourite bucket and started to dig through the sand to look for a starpiece. He hadn't removed more than a half dozen spadesful of sand, however, when something jumped out the ground at him.

'BOO!' Shouted a young, girly voice. The force of the leaping object bumping into Ash caused him to lose balance, and land on his backside in the sand. When he shook off the daze from the impact, his eyes widened in horror at what was before him. The offending figure giggled proudly at the surprise she gave him. 'I surprised you.' She stated. She started to jump about on the sand, victoriously, smiling to herself, chanting; 'I surprised you, I surprised you! I surprised you, I surprised you!' Ash found it a strain, but he eventually found his voice again…

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><p>"SNAAAAAAAKE!"<p>

The screech alerted the Oaks and Riolu from their respective positions. Riolu's eyes were wild with worry at the voice, while the professor and Gary shared an air of fear and concern over what was happening. Once the trio had assessed the situation at hand, they all dashed off towards the sound's origin.

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><p>When they arrived at the scene from which the terrified scream came, they found Ash running round in frantic circles, screaming incoherent gibberish as a rather perplexed serpentine Pokémon watched on from her hole in the sand, wondering what on Earth was happening. The serpent, by the way, had a circle like gem in the middle of its forehead, and it's eyes were deep ruby red, rather than the usual pale purple of its species. It had large wing like flaps that looked resemblant to ears, and had a white nose and underbelly. The rest of the Pokémon's scales, rather than being the regular light blue of its family, were matt black.<p>

Gary charged forth, and clamped his arms around Ash's waist, and shunted him into the sand, pinning him down as he screamed and squealed in protest. Riolu and Professor Oak were quick to assist Gary, with the professor embracing Ash in a reassuring hug, while Riolu held the boy's head, pouring a soothing aura energy into Ash's mind to try and calm him down. Soon, Ash was lax, and everyone could get sense out of him. He was startled by the serpentine Pokémon that had burst out from the sand at him, and it terrified him. Gary and Professor Oak calmed Ash's nerves around the Pokémon, explaining that she was a Dratini, and was a dragon type, unlike Ekans and Arbok.

'I'm sorry I scared you.' Cooed the snake Pokémon, apologetically. 'I was just playing a game.'

"Incredible." Professor Oak mused, crouching down to the serpent's level, inspecting it closely. "This Dratini to not only be unusually coloured… but unusually skilled as well." Everyone else looked at the professor curiously.

'What's the old man on about?' Dratini quizzed.

"Well – ignoring the old man comment – I mean that you seem to have telepathic abilities." The professor clarified to the youngsters. "That's completely unheard of to science everywhere. Apart from, obviously, right now." Dratini smiled, rather enjoying the attention.

'Why thank you.' She said. 'My Meema always said I was special.'

"Meema? What's a Meema?" Ash asked, cocking his head curiously.

'Meema is a word that Pokémon use to refer to their parents.' Riolu responded. 'It refers to both the male and female parents. Where humans have a different word for each parent, the Pokémon word is universal.'

"Oh, I see." Ash turned to Dratini. "So… why are you a different colour from a regular Dratini. Are you a shiny?" He inquired.

'I don't think so.' Dratini responded. 'I think a shiny Dratini is pink in colour. I've never seen a Dratini the same colour as myself before.'

"It must be some kind of irregular genetic development." The professor mused. "I've never seen any Pokémon who was an alternative colour to a regular individual, and wasn't a shiny Pokémon."

"Hey Ash." Gary piped up, taking a position next his best friend. "How about you take Dratini as one of your Pokémon? Maybe by having a snake-like Pokémon with you, she may be able to help you get over this fear of snakes you have." He offered. Ash physically tensed at the proposal, fear twisting and contorting his face. He started to tremble and shake, clutching his arms around himself. Tears started to form in his eyes, and his shoulders began to shiver.

"I-I don't th-think I-I can, G-Gary." He trembled. "I-I'm just t-too scared." Dratini's ears dropped at his statement, and her yes quivered with disappointment. She purred unhappily.

'I understand.' She trembled. 'I'm sorry for scaring you, Ash. I really am.' She slithered out of her sand hole and crawled across the beach towards the sea. Ash, Gary, Riolu and the professor watched as she sadly made her way to the water.

"Dratini! Wait!" The young dragon stopped as she reached the tide's edge. She turned her head to find Ash was rushing down the sandy landscape towards her. As he drew nearer to her, the look of apology in his eyes became more and more apparent. He reached the dragon Pokémon, and stopped just millimetres away from her face. He looked into her sorrowful eyes, with a soft look of guilt. "I'm sorry for saying that, Dratini. But… I'm really, really, _really_ scared of any Pokémon with a snake-like body. If I _do_ decide to become your trainer, it'll take me a long time to get over my fear. But if I _don't_ become your trainer, I may take _longer_ to get over my fear. Either way, it's going to take me a long, long time to get used to snake Pokémon, including you." Ash apologised, tears starting to sneak their way down his cheeks. Dratini nodded, sadly, gazing at the tidal waters that were slowly lapping around underneath Ash and herself.

'I understand, Ash.' She looked back up into his eyes, with a small hopeful sparkle. 'But will you at least consider it? Please?' She begged. Ash didn't know what to do. If he said no, he'd just upset the poor dragon even further. And if he said yes, he'd have to work his hardest to get used to her being a snake. Suddenly, an amazing thought crossed his mind.

"How about we have a Pokémon battle to decide?" He proposed. "You and Riolu battle, and if Riolu and I win, I train you. And if you win, you go free. Sound fair?"

'You promise you won't lose to me on purpose?'

"When it comes to battles, I fight to win." The boy smirked. Hearing this, Dratini beamed, and started bouncing excitedly.

'Let's do it!'

* * *

><p>The two young Pokémon stared each other down. Dratini eyed her opponent up and down for size, while Riolu calmly stretched a little, limbering for combat. Ash swivelled his official Pokémon League hat, which was now a little snugger on his head, round, so it was back to front, and prepared for battle. His little fingers now clutched a small pokéball Professor Oak had given him to use it he managed to win against Dratini.<p>

"You can take the first move, Dratini." He offered, gentlemanly. The young dragon smiled, mischievously.

'You'll regret that, Ashy.' She taunted. She leaped into the air, and fired a tornado from her mouth towards Riolu. 'Twister!' She yelled, as the funnel of air soared closer to the fox. Ash squinted at the tornado, and made mental notes on the wind speed and diameter of the twister. Once he had his estimates, Ash relaxed, and Riolu mimicked, in perfect sync with Ash's body. As the dragon's attack was inches from Riolu's head, the Emanation Pokémon and his trainer opened their eyes, and raised their right hand, blocking the attack like a simple string shot. Stunned by the ease of the block, Dratini changed tactics, and started hurtling towards Riolu, surrounding herself in a stream of water as she plummeted for him. Again, Ash calmly watched her speed and angle of trajectory, making some quick estimations in his head. Calculations done, he clasped his hands loosely together, an action Riolu synchronised with again. The difference being… Riolu was forming an aura sphere while Ash was discreetly imagining. As Dratini's Aqua Jet attack came a foot from Riolu, the synchronised duo sidestepped, and released the aura sphere into the back of the dragon's head. Dratini gasped in surprise at the attack, and lost control of her Aqua Jet trajectory, sending herself careering into the sand, knocked out.

Ash saw his chance, and threw the pokéball. The sphere collided with Dratini's smooth scales, and rebounded slightly, opening wide to swallow the fainted target in a red beam of light. The capsule fell to the sand, bouncing upon landing, and rocked side to side half a dozen times before settling, certainly ensnaring Dratini within. Even though the captured creature was a snake, Ash couldn't help but grin as he picked up Dratini's ball, and lift it high above his head victoriously.

"Yes! I caught my first Pokémon; Dratini!" He cried, striking a victory pose, with Riolu copying him at his side. Gary giggled as he applauded Ash's efforts.

"Well done, Ashy-boy." He congratulated him, patting his adopted brother on the back. "For a scaredy Meowth, when it comes to snakes, you handled Dratini rather well.'

"Thanks, Gary." Ash smiled, looking at the pokéball in his hand. 'Now, maybe I can get a little support from Dratini with confronting my fear of snake Pokémon.'

The group returned to their picnic, inviting Dratini – after she'd recovered a little – to join them. After a lovely picnic, the group packed up and decided to go back home. It'd been a long day. And Ash was going to need rest for tomorrow; having to get used to his new psychic serpent supporter.

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><p><strong>Chapter over. Next chapter will be the final preparations, and then we'll be following Ash around as he starts his Pokémon quest. Now, a few questions for anyone who wishes to review;<strong>

**1. How should Ash and Pikachu start their relationship? Ash will be 9, so he has a year to befriend the mouse, but should he succeed or not right now?**

**2. What Pokémon, if any, should I have Ash catch in his first week of his journey?**

**3. Can anyone give me any unusual, or new, pairings involving Misty and/or Gary?**

**4. Ash's Riolu has blue eyes, instead of the normal red, and his new Dratini is black, instead of blue. Do you think I should give him a normal Pikachu or give Pikachu some special feature as well? If the latter, what kind of special feature?**

**And, I already have a pairing lined up for Ash, but I won't be able to put it together until late Johto/early Hoenn travels (yes, I'm going to be writing that far, I guarantee it). I won't give away too many details, but I _will_ say this; I've only ever seen _ONE_ straight romance fiction with this pairing before, and I haven't seen any official shipping name for it. So, I'm giving it my own name. I'm calling it; BurningFlowerShipping. Can anyone guess which character, from the shipping title, I'm going to pair Ash with?**

**If you've coped with reading this author note up to this line, thank you for your dedication. And I look forward to updating this story in a week's time.**


	8. The Mouse and the Snake

**Hello all. Salvador again. I know. This is FRIDAY, not SUNDAY, but I'm going to be busy this weekend so you lucky people get an early update. Normal service shall be resumed as of next week.**

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><p><span>The Mouse and the Snake<span>

It was now Ash's ninth birthday, and he was surprised he'd lived to _this_ point by now. Surely, Team Rocket would've aimed to kill him, if they knew he survived the attack at his house all those years ago. The day that meant he was spending some time here. At his mother's grave.

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><p><em>Ash was kneeling in front of his mother, Delia Ketchum, who was sprawled out on the floor of the landing, heavily injured by the fire that was now engulfing the whole house. Her pink silk dressing gown was singed in places, and her long tawny hair was now half black from the flames.<em>

"_Ash." She croaked. "Ash, you need… you need to get out."_

"_No. Mummy, I won't leave you."_

"_You have to, Ash. I'm sorry, but I don't think Mummy's going to make it."_

"_Mummy, please. Don't." The boy shouted, denying the truth that his mother __**did**__ look close to death. He helped her to sit on her knees. She looked up at her son's terrified face, and tried to squeeze her voice into action._

"_Ashy. You need to go. This isn't an accident. Someone's trying to get rid of us." Although she knew full well who it was trying to kill her and her little boy Delia was never going to tell Ash this. If he escaped without being noticed, maybe he'd be safe. "I can't let you, not my only child, be hurt by whoever's doing this."_

_Ash couldn't control the water that was streaming down his face._

"_But, Mummy, I don't wanna lose you. Daddy's gone missing, and I want to keep you safe." He couldn't help but wonder why his mother was now giving up. She __**never**__ did that. Why now? Delia picked her son up, with whatever was left of her strength, and begged him to leave._

"_Please. You _must _go. Run. And keep on running, don't look back. Just run as far away from this house as you can." She placed the, now weeping, child on the hallway floor, and kissed him gently on the forehead. "I love you, Ashy."_

"_I… I love you… too… Mummy." Her child sobbed, sniffing each time he took a breath between sobs._

"_And remember." His mother whispered. "You'll always be my little Ashy." And with that, she sank to the floor, head resting on the backs of her hands. Her eyes rolled closed for, what was going to be, the last time._

_After Ash had been finally forced from his mother's corpse, he ran downstairs, only to be beaten heavily by two teenagers, bitten by Jessie's Ekans, and left for dead. He was sure he was going to die. And the words Jessie used before leaving circled in his head._

"_Nothing personal, kid. Just payback at your dad, for what he did to Team Rocket." And his final thought before his consciousness slipped from him was…_

'_Why us? What did __**we**__ do? What did __**Daddy**__ do?' _

* * *

><p>So here he was. At the site where his house used to stand. The patch of land that was now a memorial garden to his taken mother. Delia always did enjoy gardening. Whenever Ash was out playing, or was having some quiet time, she'd pop out to the garden and tend to her flower patches. Wherever Delia dug her trowel, flowers seemed to sprout like crazy. She was a very green fingered woman. Only now…<p>

Ash turned his gaze from the garden around to the gravestone. The stone wasn't your average gravestone, however. It was more of a tomb shrine in her honour. The pedestal was made of granite, studded with diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds – all of Delia's favourite gemstones – and a beautifully sculpted marble statue of herself, holding a five year old Ash in her arms. At the base of the tomb was a plague. Engraved upon the glimmering plate was written:

_Here lies Delia Isabelle Ketchum_

_January 1__st__ 1969 – April 1__st__ 1992_

_Beloved wife, mother, daughter and friend_

_Always doted on her son, right up to the end_

And here Ash was, on April 1st 1996, at the tomb of his mother. The tomb was commissioned by Professor Oak, and the words on the plague always made Ash cry when he read them. He stroked the brushed metal plate with his fingertips, and remembered all the happy memories he had of his mum. She was always so fun. So caring. And now she was gone. He was alone in the world. Although, not completely of course. Professor Oak, bless him, had adopted Ash soon after the attack. Ash did find it a little funny at times, because he realised a little fact he could tease Gary with. Gary was born a month before Ash, but he found that _because_ Professor Oak 'adopted' him, that would, technically, make him Gary's uncle – a fact that Gary found rather scary, and Ash loved to tease him with it if they argued. It always led to Ash winning by Gary running away.

He found a penfriend, and sister-like figure, in the still unnamed MW, a brother in Riolu, and a comforter in Dratini, who he no longer feared anymore, after spending some good quality time with her. But all the same… the boy could never shake the want of a motherly figure in his life. Someone to guide him. To advise him. To pick him up when he fell. But… some things just aren't meant to be, it seems. Ash stood from his mother's grave, and blew her a kiss through the soil. He turned to leave, wiping a tear from his eye as he went.

* * *

><p>Evening was sneaking in as Ash was walking through his favourite forest, thinking about mothers and families, and how much he wanted that back in his life. His mother was amazing, that much was universally accepted. Everyone who ever met her never had a harsh line to say about her. Not even about when she fell pregnant at the age of eighteen. But now she's gone. That wonderful, loving, and well-loved, young woman was dead. And Team Rocket was to blame. Ash was always full of murderous rage at Team Rocket for what they did that night. If ever he sees another Rocket uniform again, he'll kill them.<p>

"PIIIIICHU!" A sudden cry from the distance awoke Ash from his thoughts. The voice sounded youthful and… distressed. Suddenly worried and anxious, Ash broke into a run, hurrying towards the origin of the sound. Ducking and diving between branches and roots, Ash soon saw a small yellow blur zip past in front of him, followed by a large purple stripe. Without a moment's hesitation, Ash darted after them in hot pursuit. "PICHU!" The voice cried again. Ash quickened his pace, determined to help the troubled individual, whoever they were. He leapt through the bushes, and continued his pursuit.

* * *

><p>The boy tore through the thick undergrowth, only to be stopped dead in his tracks in horror at the sight that greeted him. There, pinned up against the bark of a tree was a terrified looking yellow rodent Pokémon. It was pale yellow in hue, and pink circles highlighting its cheeks. It had diamond shaped ears on the top of its head, with the edges being black and the interior yellow. Underneath its head was a black pattern, that somewhat resembled a collar. And it had a small black tail, which bared resemblance to a small lightning bolt.<p>

Ash looked on in horror at the small mouse, begging for release from, luck be a bitch, a very hungry looking Ekans, eagerly eyeing the little morsel up and down. The horrific serpent had the poor mouse pinned against the tree with its rattle-tipped tail. Tears started to swell in Ash's eyes. From fear for the poor baby Pokémon's health or his usual fear of snakes, he couldn't tell. Most possibly a mixture of both. Now Ash really wished he had Riolu, or Dratini, with him. Then he'd be able to fend this snake off with a little less worry. Frantic, the small mouse started to squirm and wriggle underneath its attacker's tail, trying its very hardest to free itself. Ash's terror started to waver a little as he saw the baby trying to free itself. He shook his head free of the shock, and started scanning the area for some form of weapon he could use to drive the snake away. Spotting a large tree branch just a few inches from him, Ash grabbed the lump of wood, and swung it round his head, clouting the serpentine beast in back of the skull, dazing it.

With Ekans stunned, Ash wasted no time freeing the creature's hostage, cradling the panic-stricken rodent in his arms, and starting sprinting for their lives. It wasn't long, however, before Ekans recovered from its daze, and set off in enraged pursuit.

* * *

><p>Ash didn't dare look back at the snake chasing after him, hissing violently in displeasure of having its prey snatched from it. Harder and harder, and faster and faster, did his feet pound the ground as he fled from his fearful pursuer. Ducking and diving, dodging and avoiding being smacked in the face by overhanging branches, or tripped by outgrowing roots, Ash continued his flight. Soon, however, disaster. Ash found his route blocked by a thick curtain of vines and ivy. And it was too late for him to turn and bluff against Ekans. The snake had, somehow, kept up all this time, and was starting to dribble with toxic venom, ready to strike for the kill. Ash was sure he'd die this time. His third major run-in with a poison-type snake, and this time… he was all alone. No Professor Oak. No Gary. No Riolu. No mother. No one to protect him. And no way out of this deadly predicament. Ash huddled himself into a defensive ball, shielding the now wailing baby Pokémon as best he could. He scrunched his eyes as tight as they could humanly go, and he started to wish.<p>

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in an underground den in the heart of the forest, a large golden-white furred creature stirred from her sleep, her ears twitching intently as she overheard a voice. A very youthful voice. And… a very terrified voice.<p>

'_I wish my mum was here._' The young voice said. '_I want my mum. I wish she could be with me. She'd help me. She'd protect me._' The fear in the youngster's voice was heart wrenching. That poor soul. Lost out there. Wanting his mum. She had to help him. She couldn't just leave him lost and alone. She rose from her nest of soft brown leaves, and ran out into the forest, heading towards the youngster in distress.

* * *

><p>Ash was getting desperate. He was trying to fend the Ekans away from him and the mouse he was guarding. He shot sphere after sphere of aura, and the serpent was too quick. It swayed this way and that, ducking and diving away from the attacks as if it were expecting them. The yellow rodent Ash was attempting so violently to save watched in awe and astonishment at his bravery and determination. His little eyes twinkled with gratitude at the human's courage.<p>

* * *

><p>The gold-white furred figure hid herself in the bushes, stunned at the sight before her. A human boy was attempting to fight an Ekans with aura sphere attack. But it looks to be a losing battle. The Ekans is inching forward, and it looks just about ready to kill. She has to do something. She has to save this child. But what? What can she do?<p>

* * *

><p>Ash's muscles started to tire. He couldn't keep up this barrage of aura sphere much longer. Soon, his body flopped altogether, to tuckered out to do anything more. This was the window Ekans was waiting for. The snake slurped its lips, and surge forward, aiming to grasp the impetuous, and very meddlesome, human by the throat.<p>

Suddenly, however, the temperature increased dramatically, and the sunlight intensified by, at least, tenfold. The serpent was blinded by the phenomenon, lost its bearings, and went hurtling into a tree trunk far away from his intended target. The serpentine Pokémon sprang from its crash zone, and started searching for the source of its distraction. Ash, too, was curious as to who or what had tampered with the weather as well. All eyes fell upon a new figure in the area. A large, brown pholidote Pokémon with dark brown plated spines on its back, and large shovel shaped claws on its paws. Ekans hissed venomously at the new arrival. Unfazed, the hedgehog snarled back, running its claws together like butcher's knives, causing an awful grating sound as it sharpened the deadly blades.

"Sand!" The pangolin sneered warningly. Ekans paid no heed, however, and darted for the plated rodent.

"Watch out!" Ash yelled, terrified that the snake was going to wreck the newcomer's body. Little did he expect what happened next.

The mole Pokémon began to glow in an intense shade of nightmare purple, becoming enshrouded in a dark aura. Its coal black eyes glared poisonous red, and vampire-like fangs began sprouting from its jaws. The creature started to distort and flicker, like a faulty computer screen, and began to mutate into an unearthly atrocity. Ash and the small rodent he'd been protecting squeaked in horror, but were too terrified to budge an inch. Ekans, too, was now bolted still in terror, not knowing what to make of this grotesque transmogrification. The monstrosity that now loomed over them bore no resemblance to the previous form it once took. The new creature was bipedal, raggedy, slobbering, and rabid. It looked like a feral version of Shadow the Hedgehog. The monstrous creature eyed Ekans up and down, evilly, slurped its chapped leather lips with it dribbling, forked tongue. The snake screeched in terror, and fled like a rocket in takeoff. This left just Ash and a highly panicky mouse alone with the beast. But, just as quickly as it had appeared, the beast was gone. In the blink of an eye. No trace of it ever existing before. Not even a footprint in the grass. Ash scanned the clearing for any sign of the creature still lurking about. All was still. Whatever that thing was… it was nowhere to be seen anymore.

Sure that the creature was now long gone, Ash's eyes now rested on the small mouse he was trying to save, who was looking up at him with large, watery eyes. The smile on its face gave it cute little cheeks the most adorable dimples Ash had ever seen. The rodent leapt into Ash's arms, squealing with joy, and nuzzling against his chest frantically.

"Pichu-pichu-pichu-pichu-pichu-pichu-pichu-pichu-pichu!" It chorused, happily thanking him over and over. Ash couldn't help but giggle as he reciprocated the embrace.

"You're welcome." He cooed to the young Mon, who started licking his cheek affectionately. Ash couldn't help but giggle as his cheek was tickled by the mouse's tongue. Ash pulled the little mouse away from him, and placed it down onto the grass, earning a few squeaks of displeasure. "I've got to go now." He explained himself. "But maybe one day, we'll meet up again, yeah?" The mouse nodded, but still seemed saddened by the departure. So, although the goodbye was an unhappy on for the Pokémon, Ash made his way back into town. He didn't notice however, the large canine observer watching him go. She watched him from the thick shrubbery with a small beaded tear in her tawny eye. How handsome the human child was. How grown up he is. And how talented. Just like someone she used to know. Only a few years ago.

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><p><strong>There we go. This week's early update. Good chapter? Hope so. Unfortunately, no one's come CLOSE to guessing the partners in BurningFlowerShipping, but I guess I was a little unfair with being so vague, but I don't wish to spoil the surprise. Many thank yous to those who responded to my questions in the last chapter, and all advise for future chapter contents are being considered. Now, Chosen-One-92 (guess whose reviews REALLY catch my eye), has said something in a review about making Ash less oblivious to girls and I think I might take that advise onboard. So... here's this chapter's question;<strong>

**Which girls through Ash's Kanto, Orange Island, and early Johto travels should I have him 'notice' and/or have some degree of low level romance with?**

**Next chapter, Ash will set off on his Pokémon journey. And we follow him through his adventures, as he lived them in the anime. See you all next week.**


	9. Journey's Start

**Hello, all. Salvador again. And, this week, I have a little surprise for you before this Sunday's out. All I'll say is; keep an eye out, those of you who have subscribed this fiction to Story Alerts.**

**Now, a little telling off. Menace13, please think a little higher than the waistline, if you please. Special fried rice _is_ also a food item, not just an infection of the unmentionables.**

**That out of the way; my thank yous to Dragonite195020 for writing my 50th review, it was very flattering. From now on, I'll be mentioning whoever writes future 25th milestone reviews. Dragonite195020, I'm flattered my story counts as one of the main reasons you joined this site, and I'm happy you like it. As for the story you mentioned... I know it. I'm _following_ it. It's called Soul Guardians, and is written by latiasfan1. Now, I rather enjoy this fiction, and would like to reccommend to my readers to give it a read if you like AltoShipping, are curious about DewShipping, or just like a little bit of Misty's Magical Mega Mallet, because this fiction has it all. To an, unfortunately, anonymous reviewer called name, the reason I had Professor Oak say Riolu would give Ash an unfair advantage is because, otherwise, the storyline would be ruined, in my view. Don't worry, however, I have plans to work around this handicap, so stay tuned. Key to Chaos, I agree with your views about overpowering Ash. I was worried I might do that, so I'm working on powering him down a little bit, so he doesn't become too God-like, and plain sails his way through the leagues, that'd be unfair.**

**Finally, after eight chapters (which was much longer than I had predicted), we'll be following Ash as he starts his anime travels. And they WILL be the anime travels, I'll make sure not to deviate too far. So... here is my write-up of episode one; Pokémon! I Choose You. Enjoy;**

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><p><span>Journey's Start<span>

The Sun rose on a glorious new day in Pallet Town. The big day. The day Ash set out on his official Pokémon adventure. And he couldn't be more psyched if he tried harder. He was up at the crack of dawn and dressed in a flash. He made his way to the kitchen and grabbed himself a cereal bar as breakfast. As he unwrapped the bar, he grabbed his backpack from the hallway, and went out for his daily morning walk.

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><p>Right on time. She'd learned that he took a walk every day at about this time, so she always waited for him just outside the gate to the ranch that came from the Pokémon Research lab. Today was the one year anniversary since the fox had first seen the human child, and she decided from then on to keep a watchful eye on him. He's one for trouble, this one. Always gets himself in a muddle. Always did, when she thinks about it. Like she did every other day, the gold-white canine cloaked herself, and began walking alongside the human child she came to admire, making sure to stay out of his detection zone. A little ironic, she thought to herself. Not long ago, she'd be defending this child in plain view of him. Now… she protected him in secrecy. Without notice. Without presence. He may never know how much she loves him. Or could he…? She'd have to think this one through later. Let's just enjoy his company, for the time being.<p>

* * *

><p>Ash concluded his walk and made his way back home to the professor's lab. He should be just about on time to pick up his starter Pokémon now. He opened the gate, and made his way up the path that led to the lab door. As he disappeared inside, his invisible walk companion uncloaked, and made her way off in the opposite direction, with a proud smile on her face.<p>

Ash made his way to the main hall of the lab, where Professor Oak would hand out starting-out trainers their Pokémon. As he entered, however, he noticed that there were already three trainers in the room, each holding a pokéball in their hands. The professor was just handing them their spare pokéballs and pokédexes. Ash rolled his eyes in mild frustration.

'Great (!) I overdid my walk. Now there won't be a starter Pokémon left for_ me_. Maybe I could beg Gramps to let me take Riolu or Dratini instead.' He thought. Two of the three trainers – a boy and a girl Ash knew from round town – left the hall, discussing how they were going to be the better trainer, and debating over what Pokémon they were going to catch first. The third trainer came to a stop in front of Ash, and clicked his fingers in front of his face, breaking him out of his thoughts. Ash shook off his daydream, and looked up into the face of his good friend Gary, who was smirking teasingly at him.

"Deep in thought there, Ashy-boy?" He asked, giving Ash a friendly punch on the arm. Ash laughed and planted his hand onto Gary's shoulder.

"Just a little, Gare Bear." He smirked back. The duo chuckled at their nicknames, before meeting each other's eyes again.

"Well… I got my starter Pokémon, Ash. I guess I'll be hitting the old dusty trail." Gary announced.

"Think we'll meet up soon?"

"Of course we will, mate. _Someone_ needs to keep an eye on you…" Gary teased." "…and keep you away from any more snakes." That remark earned him a gentle but well deserved, smack on the cheek.

"Not funny." Ash chastised, but in a slightly amused tone. Gary smiled, and raised a hand in farewell.

"Smell ya later, bud." He chirped, striding out. Ash rolled his eyes, and chuckled at Gary's cockiness. He then made his way to Professor Oak.

"Ah, Ash. Nice to see you here my boy."

"Likewise, Gramps." Ash looked at the table, where the starter Pokémon pokéballs used to be. "I guess there aren't any other Pokémon for _me_, are there?" He asked, slightly disheartened. The professor raised a finger to his chin, thoughtfully.

"Well… there is _one_ more Pokémon I have. But, I must say, it's a bit of an unorthodox Pokémon to start with, my lad."

"In what way?" Ash asked, with an excited interest.

"Well… I've only just caught this Pokémon; literally, last night. So, I haven't had chance to get it used to humans yet. So, it might be a little tough to handle."

"Well, could I have a look at it first, please Gramps?" Ash was very curious as to what this 'unorthodox' starter may be.

"I don't see why not." The professor pressed a button on the containment table, and a central panel in the table opened, with a pokéball rising from a compartment below. The professor plucked the ball from the table, and handed it to Ash. As he held the ball, Ash noticed a yellow thunderbolt engraved into the red top half of the orb. He pressed the centre button with his thumb, and a flash of white light burst from the capsule, projecting a figure on the table top.

After a few seconds, the figure was revealed, showing it to be a chubby rodent-like Pokémon covered with yellow fur. It had a lightning bolt-shaped tail, with a brown colouration in the fur at the base of the tail, and two brown stripes on its back. Atop the mouse's head were two long, pointed ears, each tipped with matt black fur. The small mouse peered round curiously, sniffing the air with its little beady nose. Ash couldn't help but coo over the sight of the inquisitive rodent.

"Aww. He's adorable." Ash wooed at the mouse. The Pokémon's ears twitched at the voice. It sounded familiar. He cocked his head to the side, and beamed in wonderful surprise when he saw it was the human who saved him a year ago.

"Pikachu!" He cried, as he leapt into Ash's arms, nuzzling into his chest and neck. Professor Oak was surprised by the Pokémon's reaction to Ash, to say the least. This Pokémon was practically wild, still. And yet, it seemed to have found an immediate connection with Ash.

"Well, I must say, that's unexpected." The professor mused. "This Pikachu seems to have taken an instant liking to you, Ash." Ash wrestled with the nuzzling mouse, and placed him up on his shoulder, where it started cuddling the boy's raven locks instead.

"Well… call it odd if you will… but I think I know this Pikachu from somewhere." Ash explained. As he peered over his shoulder at his affectionate shoulder mascot, he realised that the mouse was, indeed, very familiar. "Yes. I remember. I think I protected this Pikachu from an Ekans about a year ago."

"Pika! Pika!" Pikachu shouted, jumping up and down on Ash's shoulder.

"Oh, I see." Oak replied. "Well then, I guess you'll have no problem raising Pikachu on your journey. OK, then. Let me just go collect your pokédex and spare pokéballs." Professor Oak made his way to a table at the back wall, and gathered a collection of five red and white capsules and a red pocket device. He made his way back to Ash, and presented him with the equipment.

"Thanks, Gramps." Ash said with a grin, taking the capsules and electronic data box. Professor Oak smiled back, and ruffled Ash's hair.

"Now are you sure you're all packed?" He fussed. "Have you got pyjamas? A sleeping bag? Toothpaste and a toothbrush? Enough clean underwear to last you…?"

"GRAMPS!" Ash whined cutting his grandpa short. "I'll be fine. Jeez. I wonder if mum would've been this fussy over me."

"Trust me Ash. She'd be a lot, _lot_ worse than I." The professor said. A silence fell on the room, making Pikachu curious.

"Pika?" He asked Ash, poking his cheek in curiosity.

"I'll tell you in a bit, Pikachu." Ash promised. "I'll see ya later, Gramps. I'll say my goodbyes to mum before I go." And with that, Ash turned on his heels, and made his way out of the lab and to that all-too familiar gravesite.

* * *

><p>The fur on the back of Pikachu's neck stood to attention at the sight of the tomb that loomed before him. He was looking at the plague on the base of the pedestal that a young human female with her child was stood on. Although he couldn't read human scripture, Pikachu was sure that whoever was buried here was very important to his new trainer.<p>

"Delia Isabelle Ketchum was my mother." Ash told Pikachu.

"Kachuka?"

"Yeah." Ash nodded. "What you would call a 'Meema'. She was killed when I was five years old. I was just a baby."

"Cha." Pikachu's ears drooped sadly at this. No one deserves to lose their Meema. Especially at such a young age. Ash's face tensed as he thought of the faces of those bastards that did this to him.

"But I will get my revenge, Pikachu." He swore, under gritted teeth. He kneeled down to the tomb, and looked at the patch of flowers that grew at the head of where the coffin was laid. "Because today's the day, mum." He told the flowers, as if talking to his mother face to face. "Today's the day I head out on my Pokémon journey. And, one day… I'll be a Pokémon Master. And I'll take revenge on Team Rocket. Just you watch, mum. You watch your little Ashy become a powerful volcano." With his oath of honour made, Ash collected his Pikachu into his arms, and strode away for the outskirts of town.

Hidden in a bush not far away was the gold-white fox. She wiped a tear from her eye on the back of her paw, and smiled at Ash as he walked away. She thought for a second about what he said.

_Did he say… he was after __**revenge**__?_ She thought, not sure whether to agree or be flabbergasted. _Well… I suppose it __**is**__ understandable. Considering what happened that night. I think I should've expected it._She concluded. Then a wonderful thought crossed her mind. She looked to the sky and focused her mind on a form. Her tawny orbs glazed over with a purpley haze for a fleeting second, before the glow faded, and she waited for her illusion to take effect. If Ash wants revenge, he's going to need a lot of luck. So this is her good luck wish to him.

* * *

><p>Ash and Pikachu were just leaving Pallet Town behind, when they heard a majestic caw from overhead. They glanced up to the skies. And were awestruck by what they saw above them. High in the sky above was a golden bird, shimmering brightly in the sunlight leaving a trail of rainbow coloured glitter in its wake as it soared gracefully through the sky. Ash watch in awe as the bird made its way across the sky and towards the horizon to the west.<p>

"Wow. Pikachu? Did you see that, too?"

"Pika…" The mouse nodded, still star struck. As Ash and Pikachu recovered from the surprise of seeing such a majestic Pokémon, they continued down the road out of Pallet Town, oblivious to the multiple-tailed fox watching them go, giggling into one of her front paws.

* * *

><p>Ash made his way onto Route 1. It was quite a peaceful path. The trees that lined the edges of the surrounding forests swayed gently in the breeze, and bird Pokémon sang merrily from their nests. As he walked, Ash used his time to survey the surrounding area for any wild Pokémon he could possibly add to his team. A flash of brown drew his eye to a particular tuft of grass. Stood amidst the grass was a small, plump, bird Pokémon with brown feathers on its wings and head, with lighter cream coloured feathers on its underbelly.<p>

"Proocoo! Proocoo!" It cooed, as it shook its feather, soaking in the heat of the Sun, and set about preening. Ash pulled out his pokédex, and lined up the camera spot on the back with the Pokémon before him.

"A Pidgey." He stated aloud, as he flipped the device's cover open. The pokédex beeped tinnily into life, and flashed up an image of the bird Pokémon onscreen.

"_Pidgey._" It stated, in a monotonically electric voice."_The Tiny Bird __Pokémon. Pidgey is a Flying Pokémon. Among all the Flying Pokémon, it is the gentlest and easiest to capture. A perfect target for the beginning Pokémon Trainer to test his Pokémon's skills. Pidgey's Gust power creates tornadoes. It also has a Sand-Attack._"

"Cool." Ash said. He placed the pokédex back into pocket, and pulled out a pokéball, pressing the central button to size it up. He gripped the bill of his official Pokémon League baseball cap, and swivelled the headwear round to come back to front on his head. "Go! Pokéball!" He lobbed the capsulet straight for the small bird Pokémon. The ball crashed against the back of the unsuspecting bird's head, causing it to let out a coo of displeasure. Before it could react further, however, the offending ball engulfed it in a beam of red light. Once its victim was fully snared, the light retreated back into the capsule, dragging Pidgey in with it. The pokéball started to rock to and fro with the button flashing red every second. However, it snapped open again fairly soon, letting Pidgey out in a burst of white. The Tiny Bird Pokémon wasted no time in making good its escape, taking off the second it saw the outside, and flying away as quickly as it could.

Ash watched, mouth gaping, as the small pigeon Pokémon take its leave. Pikachu, meanwhile, facepalmed at its trainer's idiocy and ignorance at trying to catch a wild Pokémon. Ash caught the expression on Pikachu's face, and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry. I guess I got a little carried away with the excitement of finally being out on a Pokémon journey… that I completely forgot how to _catch_ a Pokémon, _properly_." He admitted, sheepishly. Pikachu facepalmed again, and shook its head in amused frustration. A nearby rustling soon re-peaked Ash's interest. Not far from where Pidgey was seconds ago, another bird Pokémon was just landing after flight. This bird was different. It had brown feathers like Pidgey, but its wings were pinkish red and it was larger and stockier than Pidgey. Again, Ash pulled out his pokédex. The machine beeped awake, and flashed up an image of this new Pokémon onscreen.

"_Spearow. Unlike Pidgey, Spearow has a terrible attitude. It is very wild and will sometimes attack other Pokémon and humans._" The pokédex chanted.

"A terrible attitude, huh?" Ash wondered to himself, aloud. "Sounds a bit like Gary." He chuckled, feeling rather proud of his little dig. He replaced the pokédex into his pocket, and turned to Pikachu. "I'm gonna learn from my first mistake. OK, Pikachu. You're up."

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded, and he bounded into the grass, being careful not to be spotted by the Spearow, who was busy preening its feathers. As Pikachu drew nearer to the violent bird, Ash kept a wary eye for any signs of aggression in Spearow's behaviour. Closer and closer Pikachu crept, remaining miraculously undetected by his quarry. Just as Pikachu was so close to Spearow, he could tap it on the shoulder…

"Thunderbolt it!" Ash ordered. Pikachu quickly complied, zapping the bird from inches behind, catching it completely off-guard. The bird started spazzing as the several dozen volts of electrical energy coursed through its muscles.

"Craw! Caw! Rawk!" Spearow cried ferociously, thrashing in pain, before finally succumbing to the exhausting its electrocution caused. The bird fainted, flopping to the dirt. Again, Ash swivelled his cap, and threw a pokéball. The ball smacked the unconscious bird in the chest, and drew it inside in a red beam. It fell to the ground, and rocked back and forth for a few seconds, before coming to a restful stop. Ash smiled, and picked the pokéball up, raising above his head in victory.

"Yes! I caught… a Spearow!" He cheered, as he struck his victory pose. Pikachu leapt onto Ash's shoulder, and joined in his celebration by flicking a peace sign. Their victorious joy, however, was short lived.

From out of nowhere, the skies suddenly turned dark. Ash and Pikachu looked up. And were horrified by the sight of a cloud of Spearow that now blanketed the skies above, blotting out the Sun. From the centre of the amassed flock, a half dozen Spearow swooped down towards the stunned duo, and plucked Pikachu from Ash's shoulder. Ash side stepped in reaction to the event, and found himself turned to an angle where he could see the Spearow viciously pecking, scratching and downright mauling the poor defenceless mouse Pokémon, without _any_ mercy at all.

"Pikachu!" He screamed, wide-eyed with horror at the horror film scene being enacted before him. He sprinted forwards, not caring for the fact he was surrounded by Spearow everywhere, and started pulling the attacking Spearow away from his partner, blasting them further away with a golden aura sphere or two. "Get away from him!" He warned, cradling a bruised Pikachu in his arms. "Stay away from him, or you'll be _more_ than sorry." His snarls of threat, however, were ignored. A Fearow emerged from behind a thick mass of Spearow, glaring daggers into Ash's eyes. Ash tensed with worry, holding Pikachu defensively against himself.

"FEARARRGH!" The boss Pokémon cried, and the Spearow started to swoop and soar in all direction towards, and around, Ash, scratching and clawing at him as they passed him, tearing at his skin. Ash bolted, and started to run for the forest, firing random pulses of golden aura energy to dispel any Spearow that tried to block his escape.

* * *

><p>Her lure had been deathly still like that for the past five Mewdamned minutes. For the love of Moltres, just bite already you daft water Pokémon. The young redhead bit her bottom lip to fight back the frustration. The fishing wasn't, really, the cause of her frustration, it was her derpy older sisters. She just couldn't stomach them today. She had to get out of there. So what better way to escape, she thought, than to go fishing on Route 1? This was her favourite fishing spot. Once, she caught a shiny Magikarp here. That was her best fishing day ever. Suddenly, her fishing rod started to bend, and the line reeled further out into the river on its own. She leapt from her seating position, and grabbed the pole, reeling it in as quickly as she could. Soon, she realised that whatever it was on the other end of the line, it was fairly large. The size of a human, at a rough guess. And, guess what. Yep. As she finally reeled in the mystery creature, the line flipped out of the water, propelling its cargo onto the riverbank. And there, sprawled out on the stones by the water's edge, was a young boy with raven black hair, and a rather beaten looking Pikachu.<p>

The girl jumped from the rock she was stood on, and crouched down beside the boy, shaking him gently to wake him up. Slowly, he stirred, and opened his eyes. As soon as he saw daylight, his eyes snapped wide to attention.

"Where's my Pikachu?" He asked, trying wearily to get himself sat up. The girl leaned across him, and picked up the aforementioned rodent, and held it in front of the guy, who gratefully gathered the Pokémon into his arms, snuggling it affectionately like a toddler with his favourite stuffed toy. "Thank you." He muttered. She looked into his face, and saw a look of worry and concern in the boy's eyes as he gave his Pikachu a once over to check all vital signs. Getting as satisfied as he was going to be for the time being, the boy turned to her. "Do you know where the nearest Pokémon Centre is, please miss?" He asked, getting to his feet, poising himself ready to dart off in the blink of an eye. The girl stood up, and thought about the boy's question.

"Well… we're not far from Viridian City from here." She told him, pointing to the path headed north from their location. "If you follow this path for a bit, you'll get there in about two hours."

"Two hours!" He snapped, more anxious than aggressively. "I'm not sure Pikachu's condition with stay stable that long." He gave a worried glance down to his tiring rodent, who was now sporting a black eye and one or two shallow cuts. He gave the riverside clearing a quick scan for a faster route. That was when his eyes fell upon an orange bike parked up against a tree not far away. But just as he thought about asking, the sound of distant cawing was heard.

The two children looked out across the lake that the river ran into, and saw a black cluster moving towards them. Ash spine shook in horror.

"Oh no! They're coming back! Miss, can I please borrow your bike to get me to Viridian City?" He asked in a panicked tone. The girl was quite taken aback by this request, and wasn't sure how to answer. "Please? Those Spearow are the reason my Pikachu's like this. I only, literally, got him today. I can't let this happen to him the day I start my Pokémon journey. I promise I'll be careful. And I'll leave it at the police station, so you can pick it up later."

"Well…" The girl thought, slowly. "I suppose it'd be OK."

"Thank you, miss." Ash thanked gratefully. He dashed to the bike, and laid Pikachu down in the basket at the front, mounting the seat and pedalling away as fast as he could.

* * *

><p>Ash span his legs round and round as fast as his muscles would allow. However, the Spearow flock was homing in fast, and a sudden storm was brewing up pretty quickly, too. Soon, Ash could feel the rush of wind from under the wings of tens of dozens of Spearow and the cold, harsh pelt of torrentially pouring rain smashing against his skin. He pounded on, ignoring the harsh pecks and stabs he was receiving from the angered birds. Thunder clapped and lightning started to pelt the earth. One bolt of lightning struck dangerously close to the right of the bike. So close that Ash lost his focus. He lost his balance, and he, Pikachu and the bike went toppling into the mud. Ash looked into Pikachu's eyes, apologetically, and rested a hand on his cheek.<p>

"I'm sorry, Pikachu. This isn't the start to my adventure I was hoping for." He stood, taking off his blue waistcoat, and covering Pikachu underneath it for his own protection. Then he turned to face the oncoming storm of Spearow, arms outstretched. "Come on, then!" He challenged. "I've already lost my mother in my life, what do I care if _I_ die too?" From under the waistcoat, Pikachu could hear Ash's words. His little eyes began to water as he listened to the rage and determination in Ash's voice. "I've already lost one person in my life. I'm not about to lose another! Kill me, if it'd make you happy, but leave my Pikachu alone!" The Spearow dove towards Ash, talons primed, ready to slash him flesh from bone.

As Ash prepared himself to be mauled by the murderous flock, Pikachu wriggled his way out from under the waistcoat draped over him, and leapt over Ash's shoulder. Ash felt the brush of fur on his cheek, and opened his eyes to see Pikachu soaring through the air towards the marauding flock.

"Pika…CHU!" The mouse screamed as it wildly fired volt upon volt of electrical energy into the midst of the feathery mob, zapping every single Spearow in the bunch, and even going so far as to cause Fearow a Hell-load of pain. The sparks and bolts from Pikachu were so strong and so wild that they started to zap surrounding tree branches and the bike that Ash borrowed. The bike lit up like a Christmas decoration as the electrical energy surged through it. As Pikachu's energy depleted to nothing, the bike was now signed and charred into a slightly melted mess of charcoaled metal and molten rubber. Defeated, the Spearow flock fled, cursing in their Pokémon language as they went.

When they were out of sight, Ash quickly recomposed himself, and rushed to Pikachu's side. He picked up the weakened mouse, stunned into silence by his selfless act to defend him.

"Pikachu…" He whispered. "You… you saved me." In response to him, Pikachu licked his trainer affectionately on the cheek, making Ash smile. "Come on." He said, picking up his waistcoat, and slipping it over his shoulders. "I need to get you to the Pokémon Centre, and fast." And with that, he took off down the road for Viridian City.

* * *

><p><strong>At last. I thought the preparations would only take two or three chapters but they nearly rolled into the double figures! But now, Ash is finally on his way and has Pikachu at his side for the ride. Keep that mysterious Pokémon from the opening of the chapter in mind, everyone. She's going to be important later on. VERY important. I'm not going to have too many questions this chapter, but here's the question about the story...;<strong>

**I'm sure you're all intelligent enough to have identified the mystery Pokémon, but what do you think her role is going to be? Why is she so special? What is it about Ash that makes her hang around near him? What does he mean to her?**

**And... here's a question that's popped up in my mind recently;**

**Does anyone think I should become a Beta Reader? I got this notion after I wrote a review for Pikachu's Wish: To be Human by Chidori Pikachu. Can some of you go to this fiction, read my review, and tell me if you think I should apply to become a Beta Reader on this site, to try and aid other authors in their writing, please? It'd be most kind of you to respond, as I take great joy in involving you lot, you're a very helpful community.**

**Anyway, I'd best be off, now. Story Alert subscribers, keep an eye out for this week's surprise treat. Farewell for now.**


	10. An Unpleasant Second Appearance

**And here's today's surprise. A two chapter update this week. This twelve page chapter took me one day to write on Friday, so I thought I'd share it early. Hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

><p><span>An Unpleasant Second Appearance<span>

In Viridian City, Officer Jenny was just finishing a city-wide announcement that a gang of mysterious Pokémon thieves had been spotted in the local vicinity, and for everybody to keep an eye out for any suspicious characters. Just as she was ending the announcement, she spotted someone pelting up the road towards the city, holding – what looked to be – a Pokémon in their arms. Speaking of suspicious… she put down her tannoy receiver, and made her out of the police station to intercept.

* * *

><p>Ash was now getting concerned. Pikachu looked to be getting weaker, as he was now falling asleep in his arms. He had to get to Pokémon Centre and stat. Suddenly, however…<p>

"Hold it." Someone grabbed the back of his shirt collar, pulling him back a little rougher than comfortable. "Where do you think you're going with that Pokémon?" The blue haired officer challenged him. Ash span round from her grip to confront her.

"It's _my_ Pokémon!" He bit back. "And I need to get him to the Pokémon Centre, and fast." Jenny looked down into the boys arms inspect the Pokémon. It was pretty battered and bruised. There were a handful of grazes on its small body frame, and a cut or two on its little face.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you might be a Pokémon thief stealing the little thing." She looked up from the injured Pikachu, and back to the child who was cradling him. "Well, if you're really a Pokémon trainer, all I need is to see your identification, and I can send you on your way."

"Identification?" Ash thought about what he could do to show he was a trainer. "I'm afraid I haven't got any direct form of identification."

"No ID? Well, this is going to be a problem."

"But… I'm from Pallet Town, so you could probably call…"

"You know, you're the fourth person I've seen today from Pallet Town."

"Fourth? So that means Gary's been through." Ash thought, smiling at the thought. Gary never did hang around too long in one place.

"You know, it odd to see a trainer that carries their Pokémon in their arms, rather than in a pokéball." Officer Jenny said, suddenly realising Pikachu wasn't captive to a ball. "How do I know you didn't steal this Pikachu?" She asked again, teasing more than accusing this time.

"Please, officer." Ash begged. "I'd never steal a Pokémon. I promise." Suddenly, something in Ash's pocket caught Jenny's eye.

"Hey, what's that in your pocket?" She asked him. Ash looked down at the pocket of his waistcoat, and saw his pokédex poking out. Suddenly, an idea came to him. He pulled the device from his pocket, and presented it to the officer.

"Oh. My pokédex. Does _that_ count as my ID?" Jenny's eyes lit up at the sight of the electronic box. She snatched it from Ash's hands, exclaiming.

"There we go. This will solve our problem." She opened the pokédex, and started pressing a sequence of buttons, then handed the device back to Ash. The machine beeped, and blinked up an image of Ash on its screen.

"My name is Dexter." The device introduced itself in it tinny voice. "I am registered to the trainer Ashton R. Ketchum-Oak. My purpose is to provide Ash with information on Pokémon behaviours and characteristics. If lost, I cannot be replaced." Ash stared at the screen, slightly surprised by the fact that his pokédex was his ID. He hadn't been aware of that.

"Oh. So my pokédex acts as my ID."

"Well now that that's taken care of, we have to get you and your Pikachu to the Pokémon Centre, and pronto." Officer Jenny said, leading Ash to the police garage.

* * *

><p>The garage door opened to reveal Jenny mounted up on her police motorcycle, and Ash sat next to her in the sidecar.<p>

"Sit back, hold tight, and don't yell." The officer instructed, and revved the accelerator, causing the bike to roar away in a cloud of tire smoke. Little did the occupants of the bike realise the girl who got caught in the back draft of the smoke, choking and hacking in the dark fumes. When the smoke cleared, the girl was revealed to be the redhead Ash borrowed the bike from, which she was now carrying on her shoulders.

"Hey! What's the big idea? Get back here!" She shouted, sprinting off in hot pursuit of the vehicle.

* * *

><p>The Pokémon Centre started to come into view as Jenny drove up the main road of the city.<p>

"There's the Pokémon Centre." She informed her passenger.

"It's huge." Ash noted. Soon, they were yards away from the main doors.

"This is tricky, so hold on tight." The officer warned him. To Ash's shock and amazement, she didn't so much a look at the brake as she drove her motorbike up the steps to the Pokémon Centre, sending the bike flying through the air, and sliding through the automatic doors – which only just opened in time to let the bike through without getting shattered. The bike flew through the lobby of the Pokémon centre, and skidded to a halt at the front desk. The Nurse Joy behind the desk was… less than impressed at this display.

"Excuse me, but we _do_ have a driveway, you know." She chastised the officer in front of her. She was always doing this. Barging in with a flurry of noise and flamboyance on that flipping bike. And what was it about that that made her heart flutter so much?

"Sorry, Joy. But we have a Pokémon emergency on our hands." Jenny said in response, nodding her head towards Ash for emphasis.

"Please help my Pokémon." He requested, holding Pikachu out towards the nurse.

"Looks like a Pikachu." Joy muttered. She flicked a switch on her communication system to the rest of the medical staff, and started typing data into her computer at the desk. "I need a stretcher for a small electric type Pokémon, and fast." She reported. Soon, two Chansey appeared, wheeling in a small stretcher. They wheeled the bed over to Ash, who placed the weakened mouse onto it. "Your Pikachu will be just fine." Joy reassured Ash, as the Chansey rolled the stretcher through a pair of white doors into the operating theatre. "You're lucky you got it here in time."

"Please. If there's anything I can do to help my Pikachu, please tell me what to do." Ash asked the nurse. He felt awful for the condition Pikachu was in right now.

"And who are you?" Nurse Joy inquired.

"His name's Ash, and he's Pikachu's trainer." Jenny informed her.

"I'll do anything to help Pikachu. Anything at all." Ash repeated himself.

"You could be more responsible in the future, young man." Joy chided him, causing Ash to stumble in shock at her words. "You should know, as a trainer, when to stop pushing your Pokémon so hard in battle." Ash couldn't believe he was hearing this. This nurse was accusing _him_ of causing this pain to Pikachu.

"But, wait. I didn't _make_ Pikachu battle. I was trying to get him _away_ from those Spearow, but they were too violent."

"Well, what's past is past. Right now, I have a patient in that operative theatre, so I must get started with the treatment right away." Jenny gave a salute.

"It's in your hands, Joy. I know you'll give it excellent care."

"Well, you got Pikachu here just in time."

"That's my job. Oh my goodness…" Jenny suddenly realised. "I left my motorbike parked up by the front desk."

"Next time use the driveway." Nurse Joy giggled, giving Jenny a cheeky wink. The officer, embarrassedly, sidled away to her bike, and drove it out.

"She's a cutie, that one." Joy mused. She then turned to leave for the operating theatre. "Now, Ash, you're gonna have to sit in the waiting room for your Pikachu." And behind the doors she went, leaving Ash to worry in the waiting room, with nothing to do but anticipate the results.

* * *

><p>The wait was intolerable. If Ash didn't hear soon from Nurse Joy that Pikachu was OK, he was sure he'd lose his head with worry. As his eyes wandered aimlessly around the lobby, they fell upon a line of videophones lined up against the far wall.<p>

"I think I'll call home, to pass the time." Ash concluded to himself. He sat down at one of the screens, and dialled in the number for the professor. After a short ringing period, the screen blinked into life, and Professor Oak's face showed up on the screen. Upon seeing Ash's face looking back at him, the professor beamed in delight.

"Ah. Ash, my boy." He greeted, chummily. "Nice to hear from you. Where are you calling from?"

"I'm in Viridian City, Gramps." Ash replied, rather gloomily, still thinking about Pikachu. Oak, being Oak, didn't register, however, and kept being jolly.

"Viridian City, eh. You know, Gary called me from there not long ago. Said he was passing straight through, on account that the gym's closed for a while until the leader returns from some 'business affairs', as he called them."

"Yeah, that's sounds like Gary. Never likes to loiter in one place for too long." Ash said, slightly lighter, but not a great deal happier.

"Yes, I know. And Gary's already caught ten Pokémon, you know?" Oak informed Ash.

"Ten huh?" Ash couldn't help but smile for his brother/nephew's achievement. "Well… good for him."

"I must say, it's not surprise to me that you got to Viridian so quickly. If anything, I'd have thought you may have been there a tiny bit faster." Ash cringed as he remembered the assault he and Pikachu suffered at the beaks of those damn Spearow.

"But when Gary bet me that by the time you got to Viridian…" The professor continued. "…and bet me you wouldn't have a single new Pokémon on your team, I bet him a million Pokédollars to the contrary." Ash's eyes shot open at this wager.

"Gramps, don't you think that was a bit of a gamble?"

"No, no. Not at all, Ash." The professor waved the question off, dismissively. "I have full faith that you'll be able to catch many new Pokémon quickly. So… did you catch a Pokémon on your way to Viridian, Ash?" He asked, leaning forward in his chair expectantly.

"Yes. I did, Gramps." Ash said, slowly, preparing himself for an explosive response.

"Yahoo!" Professor Oak leapt from his chair, fist pumping the air in victory. "That's the way, Ash. I knew you could do it." Ash waited patiently for the hyper old man to simmer down. When he was re-settled into his chair, Ash ventured to speak again.

"By the way, Gramps…" The professor looked at Ash intently, wondering what Ash was going to say." "…on my way here, I saw a golden Pokémon flying through the sky, just outside Pallet Town. Do you know what it might've been?"

The professor leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms in thought.

"Hmm… no, I don't think I can tell you, Ash. I've never heard of such a Pokémon's existence before." He replied, slightly disheartening Ash.

"Oh. OK. Well, it was nice talking to you again, Gramps." He said, thoughts of Pikachu re-entering his head.

"You too, Ash." The professor's doorbell rang. "Oh. That's my pizza. See you later, Ash." And the professor walked off screen to the door, muttering; "Mmm, yum-yum. Anchovy, spinach and pineapple pizza." And the screen cut out.

"Now I got you!" Came an angry, and vaguely familiar, voice. Ash turned to see a growling redhead girl holding a charcoaled bicycle over her shoulders.

'Aw, crud.' Ash thought, gulping nervously. The girl continued to glare at him like an Ekans eyeing up a fresh and tasty Eevee. Although he knew full well, Ash had to ask. "What happened to your bike?" He asked, playing dumb.

"What happened!" The girl erupted. "_YOU_ happened you little loser! Look at my bike! It's toast! You're gonna pay for what you-" She didn't get to finish her sentence, as the weight of the bike suddenly overtook her, taking her down to the floor with a bang. Ash rushed to her side, and offered her a hand to help her up. She roughly batted his hand away. "I don't want your damn help!" She snapped, leaping to her feet, patting herself down. "You owe me for that bike, kid!" She shouted in his face, planting her balled fists on her hips, tapping her foot impatiently.

"I know. I'm sorry for the bike, and I'll make it up to you I promise. But I can't focus on two crises at the same time." Ash apologised.

"Don't give me lame excuses, kid." The girl warned him. Ash's eyes sunk further and further towards the floor.

"It's my Pikachu." He said, holding back a sob of guilt. The girl's face softened at this response. She'd completely forgotten the kid's weakened Pokémon.

"Is it OK?" She asked, her voice soft with shared worry.

"I hope so."

As soon as Ash said this, the red light over the doors to the Pokémon Centre operating theatres opened, and Nurse Joy came in with her Chansey wheeling in Pikachu's stretcher. Ash and the girl rushed over to the stretcher, and inspected his current state. The mouse looked fairly rested, and had visibly fewer bruises. A light bulb was wired to his head with a special headband.

"Your Pikachu is doing just fine now, Ash." Nurse Joy smiled. "You were lucky you got it here so soon."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy." Ash thanked gratefully. He turned to the girl beside him with apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry, miss. But would it be OK if I make sure Pikachu's OK for a while, and then I'll see what I can do about repaying you for the bike later?" He requested. Although she didn't see how fair this arrangement was for her, the girl sighed and nodded, begrudgingly.

"Fine." She muttered, grumpily.

At that moment, the citywide tannoy system blared a warning signal.

"Your attention, please!" Officer Jenny's voice commanded over the noise. "Our Viridian City radar system has detected an airship belonging to a gang of Pokémon thieves! If you have any Pokémon about your possession, please exercise extreme caution." She warned.

* * *

><p>Above the Pokémon Centre, a Meowth head balloon hovered overhead. Its occupants?… you know.<p>

"Looks like we woke up this sleepy dump." Jessie chuckled.

"And how _dare_ they talk as if we're _criminals!_" James chided the police force. "They should be welcoming Team Rocket."

"We'll teach them to respect that name." Jessie sneered.

"And when we capture all dere Pokémon, dey'll know dat _I'm_ dat top cat!" Purred the white humanoid feline Pokémon behind them, in his awful New Jersey accent.

"We know Meowth, we know." Jessie and James moaned, sick and tired of hearing his pathetic bigheadedness. They held out a pokéball each, and allowed them to drop to the sunroof of the Pokémon Centre below.

"Go, Ekans."

"Go, Koffing. Cause confusion." They ordered. The pokéballs smashed through the glass panelling of the sunroof, and fell into the Pokémon Centre lobby, releasing their contained Pokémon. Koffing released a burst of Smokescreen, enshrouding the lobby in black fog, blinding all's' vision.

The redhead covered his mouth and nose to prevent herself inhaling the fumes, while Nurse Joy watched in shock. Ash, meanwhile, was taken aback by the events.

"What the-? What's going on?" He asked.

From within the smoke haze two human figures could be just about made out.

"Don't be frightened, little boy." A female voice mocked.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves." Came a deep, suave voice. A voice that Ash seemed to remember.

"No, it can't be…"

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight."

"Meowth! Dat's right!"

"You!" Ash snarled, viciously. He recognised these creeps, alright. Minus the freakish Pokémon that just… "What the-!" Ash stumbled as he realised Meowth just _spoke_. "That Meowth just spoke!"

"Meh. Call it a gift." Meowth crowed nonchalantly, stroking one of his whiskers in his paw. Jessie, meanwhile, was staring at Ash's face. Why did this kid look so… familiar?

* * *

><p><em>There she stood, overlooking a small, bruised, bloody toddler who was weeping in agony unmentionable. She looked away, and muttered the deadly order. She didn't see the strike, but she heard the screech of pain as the child was ruthlessly struck with venomous fangs.<em>

* * *

><p>That's it! It's him! The little kid they supposedly, killed five years ago. But… how is he… alive?<p>

"What are you losers doing here!" Ash demanded, hateful vengeance burning in his eyes.

"We're here to steal the Pokémon." James replied, coolly – not making the connection as quickly as Jessie had.

"You're _not_ getting my Pikachu!" The boy hissed, positioning himself between his friend and the thieves.

"Pikachu?" James scoffed, dismissively. "We don't want your pathetic electric rat. We only seek rare and valuable Pokémon."

"Well then, you're not very good at looking." Nurse Joy said. "This Pokémon Centre is for weak and injured Pokémon."

"True." Said Jessie, supressing her worry over the presence of the 'dead' boy. "But who's to say that there aren't any primo Pokémon a trainer's taken in for treatment which is weakened and less resistant to capture?"

"You're starting to piss me off." Ash warned, clenching his fist in fury.

"Well then… let's mop up this da piss." Meowth mocked.

"Koffing, attack!" James ordered.

The poison bag Pokémon hurled itself through the air towards Ash, Nurse Joy and the girl. Ash charged right back, pulling back a fist and locking his sight on Koffing's face. To the surprise of everyone watching, Ash socked the spherical creature square in the centre of its ugly mug, sending it flying into a wall. "Koffing!" James yelled in surprise, then turned his attention back to Ash, snarling vengefully at him. "You little brat!"

"Murderous dickhead!" Ash retaliated, cracking his knuckles. James got a good look of the child's face. And then the realisation hit.

"Jess?" He turned to his partner in crime. "Is this kid…"

"Yes, James. I already made the connection." Jessie cut him off. "How the Hell are you still breathing?"

"I was luckier than my mother." Ash snarled. Jessie sneered in response.

"Well you're luck's just run out." She hissed. "Ekans! Finish the kid!" Ash's face bleached white as a sheet as the snake surged forth at him, aiming to embed its fangs into his soft flesh. He span on his heels, forced Nurse Joy and the redhead to sit on Pikachu's stretcher, and shot off down the corridors of the Pokémon Centre, narrowly avoiding Ekans' attack. Instead of striking Ash, the serpent ended up chomping down on the computer at the front desk, shattering the monitor and biting clean through the wiring.

* * *

><p>Ash bolted down the hallway, and shoved the stretcher into a storage room where trainers' pokéballs are held until they're collected. As soon as he got the door closed and locked, the lights cut out.<p>

"Looks like they cut the power." Nurse Joy deduced. "But we have our own Pika Power source!" She cried, sounding like a power ranger. The Pikachu were lined up on the generator's circular conveyer belt. They grasped each other's tails and began running, sparking electrical energy with every step.

All the electronics sparked into life. The computer in the store room took immediate action.

"A crisis situation has arisen. Initiating emergency pokéball transport sequence." It announced in a tinny, but female, voice. Electronic arms started to remove the pokéballs from the shelves, and plonk them into the pokéball transfer device. Nurse Joy manned the transfer main computer.

"This is the Viridian City Pokémon Centre. We have an emergency situation. Transporting pokéballs." She reported, hoping one of her sisters or cousins nearby would hear and be able to receive the transferred pokéballs.

"This is the Pewter City Pokémon Centre. Transporter activated. Ready to receive pokéballs." Came the response from her older sister next city over. The pokéballs started their transferal, each being transported one at a time.

Quickly, Koffing banged down the door, spilling pokéballs everywhere.

"Quick. Grab those pokéballs!" Nurse Joy shouted. Ash started scrambling for the pokéballs. Pikachu stirred at all the commotion, and woke up to find pokéballs scattered all over the floor. He hopped from the bed and started to help gather them. Ash had placed an armful of pokéballs into the transport system, and was going for more, when he suddenly came face to face with…

"Ekans!" Ash screamed as the Pokémon cried its name, and scrambled to the back of the room, cowering like a child.

"Ash?" Nurse Joy asked, wondering what the matter was. Ash trembled in fear, stammering as he tried to give Pikachu an order.

"P-P-P-Pikachu… get that thing away from me!" Pikachu looked at his trainer confusedly.

"Pi pika?" he asked.

"I don't care! I don't care _what_ attack you use. Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave Bite, Tackle. Hell, I'd even settle for flamethrower right now, just get it _AWAY!_" He commanded, growing more and more frantic.

Nurse Joy rushed to Ash's side.

"Ash?" She gently shook his shoulder, making him squeal in horror even more. "Ash." The nurse tried to get his attention, using as soft a voice as she could right now. The redhead whirred the cogs in her head over what the nurse was saying. Ash? As in… Ashton?

"Koffing!" The poisonous sphere Pokémon slammed into Nurse Joy's back, causing her to fall harshly to the floor. Ash was just about ready to swing for the sludge bomb when Ekans made him scream in terror, tensing up, freezing every muscle in his body, and clench his eyes shut to await the pain of the creature's fangs in his flesh. But it never came. Instead, Ash heard a loud and resonating metallic 'KLANG!" sound. When he dared to open his eyes, he saw Ekans' face mere inches from his own, looking dazed and stunned with the head of a mallet slammed into the top of his cranium. He followed the mallet's handle with his eyes to find that the wielder of the weapon was the redheaded girl. She gave a flick of the handle and sent Ekans careering into its trainer.

"Grab your Pikachu and get out of here!" She ordered, pulling out a pokéball from her pocket. Ash did as he was told, and scampered out of the room with Pikachu in his arms. He ran into the lobby, only to find Koffing, Ekans Jessie and James were right behind him. He only dared glance back for a second, but it was enough to distract him from the charred and ruined bike long enough for him to trip over it, sending him and Pikachu flying to the ground.

"Pika, pika pikachu!" Pikachu shouted. Obeying, the generator Pikachu started pouring into the lobby, bundling on top of Ash's Pikachu. They all started discharging electricity, recharging Ash's Pikachu's energy. And all spare electricity was sent coursing through Team Rocket, charring them nice and crispy, and even wrecking the humans' hair.

Ash's Pikachu, now fully repowered, climbed up on top of the pika bundle, smiling. Meowth somersaulted into the room, not looking impressed with his colleagues at how easily they were fried.

"Do I have to do all the woik around here?" He moaned. "Meowth, that mouse is cat food." He started advancing on Pikachu and Ash.

"Pika-Pika." Pikachu said to Ash.

"Pika-Pika?" His trainer repeated, to make sure he heard right. "As in Pika power?" Pikachu nodded. "You want more power!" Ash deduced as he rushed to the burnt bike, and started wiring Pikachu's light bulb headband to the front light of the bike, turning the vehicle upside down. He started pedalling furiously, building up electrical energy, and started to light the light bulb on Pikachu's head, lending him more power.

"Eh? What's dis?" Meowth asked as he stopped at the sight.

"Well, let's just say me and Pikachu are gonna _shock_ you, Meowth." Ash told him, pedalling faster and faster. Pikachu, sat on top of the bicycle light, started to build up his charge. Just as the tension was getting too great that Team Rocket were about to run, he unleashed his power, lighting all five of the evil scumbags up like a group of Christmas trees.

Eventually, he was discharging so much power into them that the voltage caused Koffing's internal body gas to ignite, causing it to explode. The eruption blew Team Rocket straight through the roof of the Pokémon Centre, leaving a massive gaping hole in the structure. Officer Jenny pulled up just in front of the centre as the explosion erupted, bursting the roof open in a haze of pink smoke.

"Too late." She said. "But not for the fireworks." And the centre continued to smoulder away in the evening light.

* * *

><p>Making good their escape in their botched-repair jobbed balloon, Team Rocket were still sulking over their loss.<p>

"Great." Jessie whined. "A cat lost to a mouse, how appropriate (!)"

"Hey, hey, cut me break, dat Pikachu's no ordinary Pikachu."

"It's certainly very rare for a Pikachu to be that strong." James agreed. "A perfect prize."

"Then let's catch it!" Jessie crowed.

"Perhaps… we will." Meowth mused thoughtfully.

"And, while we're at it…" Jessie schemed, smirking. "We might as well finish the job of that kid."

"Yeah." James added. "The boss will _not_ be pleased if he learns the Ketchum brat still lives."

"Youse two gonna fill me in on this 'Ketchum' kid?" Meowth asked annoyed to be out of the loop on this one.

* * *

><p>Back at the Pokémon Centre, misty and Nurse Joy were inspecting the damage to the lobby.<p>

"Oh my word." Nurse Joy gasped. The redhead looked very annoyed.

"Ooh…" She fumed. "You're a complete destructo-kid, aren't ya!" She shouted, pointedly. Ash rubbed the back of his head shamefully.

"Sorry about this, Nurse Joy." Nurse Joy, however, waved the apology off, light-heartedly.

"No, no. There's no need for apologies. You did it for the good of the Pokémons' safety. Thank you, Ash."

The redhead froze. She looked at Ash with eyes as wide a dinner plates.

"Ash?" She asked.

"Uh… yeah." He responded.

"As in… Ashton?"

"Um… yeah. Why…?" Ash asked, hesitantly.

The girl let her emotions go. She knew who this kid was now. The one she'd wanted to meet since she was five years old. The kid who lost his mother, and nearly lost his life. She walked up to him, slowly, and hesitantly wrapped her arms around his waist, snuggling her face into the crook of his neck.

"I'm MW." She whispered. Now it was Ash's turn to be surprised. Her wrapped his arms around MW's shoulders, and returned her hug.

"Ash in… my pen friend from when I was five?" she nodded against his neck. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, MW." He smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too Ashton." The girl muttered into his neck. She pulled her head away from him, to look him in the eye. "And you can call me Misty." She told him with a smile.

* * *

><p>The following day arrived, and Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny were using the communications computer – which remained, miraculously, intact when the Pokémon Centre blew up – to talk to the Pewter City Nurse Joy.<p>

"You Viridian City Pokémon were transported here safely." She reported.

"Thanks, Sis." The Viridian City Nurse Joy responded. "Ash, Misty and Pikachu are heading your way to Pewter City." She informed her. "If there can get safely through the Viridian Forest." She added, worriedly. Officer Jenny lent a calming hand on the nurse's shoulder.

"Don't worry. From what I've seen, those three can take pretty good care of themselves." Nurse Joy swivelled round in her chair to look the officer in the face.

"Well I hope you're right." She said, sounding a little more chipper.

"Well, I gotta get back to work." Pewter City Nurse Joy said. "See ya later, lovebirds." She teased, and hung up the call, leaving the two girls in uniform to blush. They looked at each other, a little nervously. The officer quickly leaned down to peck Joy on the cheek, then rushed off to her motorbike to make a hasty exit, leaving the nurse sat in her chair, blushing.

* * *

><p>Out in the Viridian Forest, there was an ear-splitting shriek as Misty grabbed hold of Ash's shoulders.<p>

"What is it, Misty?" He asked.

"Look… over there." She told him, pointing with one trembling finger to the roots of a tree. Ash followed her line of point, and saw…

"Oh, cool! A Caterpie! It's one of the bug-type Pokémon.

"Even if it _is_ a Pokémon, bug a disgusting and I don't like them!" Misty whinnied, positioning Ash between herself and the insect. "Do something." She trembled. Ash smirked as he eyed the insect up and down.

"Alright. Stand back." He instructed, to which Misty gladly obeyed. He took a pokéball off of his belt and max-sized it, prepping himself to throw it. The derpy caterpillar Pokémon just stood still, not knowing quite what to make of the scene. Ash turned his cap around, and pulled his arm back to throw the ball in his fist. "Pokéball! Go!" He shouted, and lobbed the pokéball for his target.

* * *

><p><strong>OK, so that's that over. No more questions for this chapter but do still send in your ideas everyone, I do so love hearing what you think should happen. See you this time next week. Ta-ta.<strong>


	11. Forest Training

****Hello, everyone. I'm back with another upload. And, to all you people who reviewed this story saying things like 'the start was so promising' and 'I don't get this fear of overpowering Ash' and the like, if this fiction isn't as cut out to be what you wanted it to be, don't read it, I'm not forcing you to. At the end of the day _I_ am the author, so _I_ make the final decisions on what happens with this story. To be honest, I'm now sick of wanting to defend myself for something that's meant to be fun so, in future, I'll be doing this fiction however I please, ignoring all slams and flames. To all those enjoying the fiction, thank you for your patience and understanding towards me, and I promise you all Riolu and Dratini _will_ be returning, and soon. So, for the time being, enjoy;****

* * *

><p><span>Forest Training<span>

The caterpillar stood still as stone as the two-coloured orb soared straight towards it. As the ball closed in, the derpy insect found it more and more bizarre. Before the Pokémon had thought through what was happening properly, the sphere conked him on the head.

"Buraow!" The bug chattered as his small form was engulfed in a red light, and withdrawn into the pokéball. The capsule fell to the floor and began to rock back and forth and back and forth again. Ash stared intently at the ball, willing it to stay closed and for Caterpie to be his. After a few more seconds, the pokéball clicked shut, signalling a successful capture. Ash smiled as he picked up the pokéball, and fist pumped the air in triumph.

"Yes! I did it!" He yelled, victoriously. "I caught a Caterpie!" He got so giddy that he linked elbows with Misty and started dancing with her, despite her protests of getting dizzy and how daft he looked. Pikachu blinked confusedly at his trainer. He's already caught a Spearow on his journey, why's Caterpie such a milestone? His eyes subconsciously followed Ash and Misty as they swung round and round in circles until he got too dizzy to keep up, and flopped backwards in a daze.

Misty managed to break free from Ash's grip.

"Ash! You're acting like a-" She was cut short as Ash shoved the pokéball right up in her face, boastfully.

"Look at this! Inside this ball is the first Pokémon I've caught without having to engage it in battle or nearly die from an assault from its peers."

"Yeah, yeah. That's great, Ash." Lied Misty. "Just keep that thing away from me, will ya?" She practically begged, cringing.

"What's the matter, Misty?" Ash asked, with a touch of concern in his voice. "You're not afraid of an itsy bitsy bug Pokémon in a pokéball, are you?"

"Bugs get me all bugged out!" Misty protested. "In a pokéball or out." She covered her mouth, swallowing hard to prevent herself from gagging. "JUST KEEP IT AWAY!" She turned her back on Ash, hands on hips, to show how serious she was.

"Well, I quite like bugs, even when they're not in a pokéball." Ash stated. "I mean, how could you _not_ love a face as cute as Caterpie's?" He challenged.

"Well, I guess it takes a worm to love a worm." Misty insulted under muttered breath. Ash was not impressed by this remark.

"Ha-ha, Miss Comedy ninety-seven (!) Hey, Pikachu." He called to his dazed buddy, waking him up. He crouched down in front of Pikachu and held the pokéball out in front of him. "This is our new friend." He introduced. Pikachu sniffed the pokéball, and gave a happy "Pika!" in response. "I'm glad you like it Pikachu." Ash thanked. "OK, Caterpie, you're sticking with us."

Hearing this made Misty's spine crawl. She didn't like the implication in Ash's voice.

"Does that mean…?" It did mean.

"Alright Caterpie, come on out!" Ash cried, as he threw Caterpie's ball into the air, making release Caterpie in a flash of white light. As the shapeless light spewed in all directions, Misty ran away as fast as she could, screaming her head off just before Caterpie materialised from the light.

"Urugh?" Caterpie clicked, curiously. Ash noticed Misty was missing, and looked about the forest to see if she was still nearby. He noticed her hiding behind a tree several feet away, cowering and cringing dramatically.

"Oh, come on, Misty. There's nothing to be afraid of." Ash told her, thinking how silly Misty was being over her fear. He crouched down to the caterpillar, offering it his hand. "Come on, Caterpie. Climb up on my shoulder." The bug nodded, and started crawling towards his trainer's hand. But something in the distance distracted his eye. There, several feet away behind a tree, was the cutest human female he'd ever seen. He sprinted as fast as he could towards her, making the girl squeal in horror.

"Caterpie? What are you doing?" Ash wondered. When Caterpie reached Misty in her hiding place, her started rubbing up against her leg affectionately, purring softly, completely oblivious to her terrified shivers. "Hey, Misty. Looks like Caterpie really likes you. How cute is that?" Misty didn't find it in the least bit cute. In fact, she found it just plain grotesque.

"GET THIS DISGUSTING BUG AWAY FROM ME!" She screamed, sinking to her knees. Caterpie poked his face closer to her curiously. "Please… don't… COMEANYCLOSERTOME!" She shrieked, backing away as quickly as she could from the Pokémon, cowering up against a tree.

"What? You think Caterpie's disgusting?" Ash asked, mildly hurt by this remark. But not as hurt as Caterpie, who chirruped miserably. Pikachu walked up to the saddened insect, offering it a reassuring pat on the back.

"I know." Misty said, picking Pikachu up and cradling him in her lap. "You be friends with that creepy bug, and I'll be friends with Pikachu." She offered.

"Misty, that's not very fair. I met Pikachu a year ago, so he trusts me. I can't guarantee he trusts just anyone straight away." Ash warned.

But, to his chagrin, as soon as Misty started petting Pikachu between the ears, he was purring and squeaking in pleasure like she doing things unmentionable to him. This display of blatantly treachery made Ash quite jealous.

"Traitor." He muttered, bitterly. Misty stopped stroking Pikachu and noticed a very hurt looking Caterpie looking at her through teary eyes.

"It's so gross." She cringed. "Ash! PUT THAT SLIMY THING BACK IN THE POKÉBALL! Bugs are one of the three most disgusting things in the world!"

"Well, bugs – supposedly – being one, and you being the other, what's the third thing?" Ash mocked.

"Very funny (!)" Misty spat. "Carrots! Peppers!" She listed off. "And most of all…" She clouted Caterpie with her mallet she used to clobber Ekans. "Bugs."

"Oh, come on, Misty." Ash tried to reason with her. "Don't you think you take a fear of bugs to a degree of silly?" Immediately, Misty was to her feet and right in Ash's face, going on the offensive.

"HA! Well look how's talking, Mister; 'Pikachu, use Flamethrower to get rid of that Ekans'!" She challenged, using a mockingly derpy voice to imitate Ash.

"HEY!" He shouted in her face, actually making Misty recoil. "I have a _reason_ to be afraid of snake Pokémon. That Ekans we saw at the Pokémon Centre was the very same Ekans that nearly took my life when I was just five years old!" He snarled at her. Hearing this made Misty feel _terrible_. She'd heard about the attack, she heard that Delia died and Ash came close to following, but she didn't know _this_. But before she could open her mouth to apologise, Ash stormed to his Caterpie, and placed it on his shoulder.

"Come on, Caterpie." He huffed. "You're not gonna be bugging Misty anymore." He shunted past her, Pikachu toddling on behind him. "We're leaving her behind." Ash stormed, as he trundled through the forest angrily.

* * *

><p>Ash stomped through the forest muttering angrily. "How dare she hurt Caterpie's feelings like that? Bug Pokémon have emotions, too. What gives her the right to declare bug Pokémon are scum?" As he was ranting to himself, Pikachu sensed something behind them, and glanced back to spot a familiar redhead following some distance behind.<p>

"Pikapi." He called Ash, hopping one foot to the other, pointing behind them.

"I sense her, Pikachu." Ash replied, not turning round. He knew full well Misty was behind them. He could sense her aura. "Why are you following me, Misty? I thought you hated bug Pokémon. Caterpie's still not in his ball." This took Misty quite by surprise. Ash didn't so much as glance in her direction. How'd he know she was there? Well, she knew she was caught. She couldn't back out.

"M-my bike." She excused. "I'm holding you responsible for my bike." She made up, slowly. Ash rolled his eyes.

"Look, I didn't _mean_ for your bike to get cooked. And I said I'd make it up to you somehow, so stop worrying so much about that dumb bike."

"For your information, _you're_ the dumb one for destroying it in the first place. Had you been more responsible for your Pikachu, we wouldn't be here right now, and I'd be on my own way."

"Look, Misty… I _will_ make good on your bike one day, whatever it takes. And if I'm so 'dumb', why are you still following me?"

"I'm not following you, this just so happens to be the fastest way out of this creepy forest!"

"A likely story." Ash snapped. "Fine. Whatever. Just do whatever you want."

"That's _precisely_what I'm doing!" Misty spat furiously. Pikachu, having watched the whole exchange, whipped his head back and forth between the quarrellers, wondering what in Arceus' name their problem was. Seeing the conflict didn't resolve anything, all he could do was sweat drop.

* * *

><p>The campfire was roaring softly as Ash snuggled into his sleeping bag. Sat on a tree trunk up next to him were Pikachu and Caterpie.<p>

"Well we'd better get some sleep, guys." Ash yawned. "Tomorrow, I'm thinking of doing some training techniques I planned up when I was training under Gramps back home." The Pokémon nodded, eager to train tomorrow.

"Well, we could all get some sleep if you'd shut your big mouth." Came the now slightly irritating voice of Misty from the other side of the trunk. Ash huffed at her remark.

"Don't let the bedbugs bite (!)" He spat spitefully. The two kids quickly allowed themselves to sleep, leaving Pikachu and Caterpie to stargaze.

"**Look up there, Pikachu.**" Caterpie said. Pikachu did as he was asked, and marvelled at the clear sky littered with lights. In the distance, dozens of Butterfree were retreating back to their trees for the night.

"**It's very beautiful.**" Mused Pikachu.

"**That orange girl doesn't like me.**" Caterpie squeaked, unhappily.

"**She's just a little insecure, Caterpie. That's all. That's how human are, I guess.**"

"**I think she's really cute.**" The caterpillar blushed. "**But she looks at me like the most gruesome thing in the world.**" Pikachu didn't have any words for this. What could he say now to liven the insect up? "**I hope to someday get her to like me.**" The green worm continued. "**I want to evolve up through my stages. I want to become a Metapod. Maybe I'll be less ugly to her when I can't move, so she knows I can't pose a threat. And then…**" He looked out at the Butterfree who were nestling into their tree nests. "**I want to become one of them. If I become a Butterfree, maybe I'll look less scary to her, and she'll like me.**"

"**And, you'd be able to fly!**" Pikachu added, excitedly.

"**Yeah. And I'd be able to soar through the air majestically, and not have a care in the world!**" Caterpie chirruped, a sense of newfound hope in his voice.

"**Oh, that'd be so cool, Cat.**" Pikachu squeaked.

"**I think so too, Pi. I really hope I evolve soon.**"

"**I'm sure you will, Caterpie. I'm sure you will.**"

* * *

><p>The Sun was up. The fire was out. And all were quietly asleep.<p>

"GWAAAH!" Or… they were until Misty awoke with a start. Guess who made her scream. Ash leapt to attention, still stood in his sleeping bag.

"What is it? What's the matter? Who's attacking?" He interrogated, glancing around to see what hidden foe was around.

"What is this thing doing sleeping near me?" Misty squeaked, staring down at Caterpie with terror-stricken eyes. Ash noticed what was going on and chuckled.

"Oh, Caterpie just wants to be your friend, Misty."

"IF THAT THING WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND, IT CAN STOP BUGGING ME ALREADY!" She screamed. "If you're a Pokémon, get into that pokéball and out of my face!" She snapped at the insect, making the poor bug type cry.

"Oh, Misty, you're so unbelievably mean." Ash chided her. "Caterpie means no harm to you whatsoever. Why the poor thing likes you, I'll never know." Then he noticed the crying caterpillar crawling cheerlessly back to its capsule. Ash, still being in his sleeping bag, crawled alongside Caterpie trying to reason with the broken-hearted Pokémon. The bug got back to his ball, and pressed the button, allowing himself to be sucked inside. This _really_ pissed Ash off. "Alright, Misty…" He snarled, standing up and unzipping himself from his sleeping bag. "…you owe my Caterpie an apology. Pokémon have feelings, too, you know. No matter what type they are." Misty huffed and looked away from him, crossing her arms defiantly. Ash went back to Caterpie's pokéball, and picked it up softly. "Don't you worry, Caterpie. One day we'll show her."

Suddenly, the sound of beating wings swooped by and a Pidgeotto dove into a tuft of tall grass, not far from Ash, Misty and Pikachu. "Wow! It's a Pidgeotto!" Ash exclaimed, slapping his cap on. He took out Dexter, and scanned the Pidgeotto. The machine beeped, and blinked up an image of the large bird Pokémon.

"Pidgeotto. An evolved form of Pidgey. It is armed with sharp claws, and dives from the sky to capture its prey. Unlike the more gentle Pidgey, Pidgeotto can be more dangerous. Approach with extreme caution."

"Duly noted." Ash replied. "OK, Pikachu. Let's show this Pidgeotto who're the _real_ dangerous ones around here."

"Pikachu!" The mouse replied to his trainer, jogging into a battle position, staring down the large bird before him, how merely gazed lazily at him through the corner of his eye.

"Alright, Pikachu… use Tackle attack!" Pikachu mounted a charge towards his foe, sprinting on all fours. The Pidgeotto hardly thought of a plan of action and calmly beat his wings to elevate himself into the skies and above the attack. "OK, Pikachu, try a Thundershock attack!" Pikachu released a stream of lightning, which wrapped around the Pidgeotto, freezing it in place as its muscles became paralysed.

"Pokéball, go!" Ash shouted, hurling a pokéball at the stunned bird Pokémon. The ball flopped to the floor, and began to rock side to side.

After a long moment of tension, the ball clicked shut. "YES!" Ash screamed. "We caught Pidgeotto!" He shouted victoriously, flicking a peace sign. Wanting to join in the celebrations, Pikachu mimicked the action, gleefully. Ash picked up the pokéball, and walked over to Misty with the biggest grin on his face ever. "I feel like this whole journey's going well so far. I caught a Spearow, a Caterpie and now a Pidgeotto, with a Riolu and a Dratini waiting at home to be used later in my travels. Add Pikachu into that mix, and I've already got six Pokémon in all. Gary may have ten, but I'm sure one or two of those will be through evolution."

"KETCHUM!" Speak of the Devil himself. Ash and Misty turned in surprise of the bellow to find a fairly tall boy about their age with large spiky brown hair coming thundering through the trees towards them. And he looked pissed. When he came within striking distance of Ash, he grabbed him by the collar, and started shaking him roughly. "Thanks for Mewdamned bankrupting me Ketchum!" He roared in Ash's face. "Grandpa doesn't let bets slide by, you know!" Ash just calmly took the rough treatment, smirking at the enraged kid.

"Gary, put your uncle down." He requested, slyly. Gary cringed at the U word, and put Ash down immediately.

"Y-you're _not_ my uncle, Ash." He pouted, causing Ash to chuckle victoriously.

Ash calmed himself down, and straightened his shirt.

"So I take it Gramps told you about my Spearow capture?" He asked the sulking kid before him, who nodded grumpily. "Well…" He chuckled. "…you should know better than to underestimate my Pokémon catching skills. I mean… you were there when I caught Dratini."

"Well… yeah." Gary admitted, sheepishly. "But I always thought it was just a fluke."

"Oh, by the way. Thanks for asking (!) I'm fine (!)" Ash almost hissed with sarcasm dripping from his teeth. "My Pokémon journey started just fine (!) Not long after catching Spearow, a whole flock of them sought after revenge on me and Pikachu, and nearly succeeded in killing us. Then, when we got to Viridian City, I met up with the girl who tried to kill me five years ago. And, to pour salt into the wound, she _still_ has the same bloody Ekans. I was _terrified_, Gazza." Ash whined, tears forming anew in his eyes. Gary looked at Ash with the deepest sympathy possible. Ash _never_ called him Gazza unless he was really and truly upset. It was like a little code to them. Gary hooked an arm around Ash's shoulder, and gave him a brotherly hug, offering him support.

"Don't worry, mate. We'll get you over this fear, I promise." He soothed. It was now that he noticed Misty. "Hey, Ash? Who's the girl?"

"My name's Misty." Misty introduced herself, holding out a hand to Gary. "Nice to meet you." Gary took the offered hand, smiling.

"Pleasure's all mine." He smirked, winking at her. "Gary Oak."

Introductions over, the three of them started to make their way through the forest. Little did they notice… they were being watched.

* * *

><p>From the bushes, three pairs of binoculars peered out at the three ten year olds as they made their way down the road through the forest.<p>

"Oh, great (!)" The pink haired girl moaned. "They've added another to their number." The blue haired boy beside her lowered his binoculars.

"This could pose a great risk to our 'kill the twerp and steal his Pikachu' plan, if there are too many witnesses to the account." He said.

"Meowth. Well, we'll just hafta wait til those halfwit kids are preoccupied with udder business before we strike." Meowth sneered, evilly. Jessie chuckled to herself, darkly.

"We'll wait until they're training, and they tire their Pokémon out." She plotted. "Then they'll have nothing to defend their miserable arses."

* * *

><p>Some hours had past and, sick and tired of just wandering around gormlessly through the forest, Ash had indeed decided to take up a spot of training. He took a notebook out from the front pocket of his backpack, and started flipping through the hastily scribbled notes he took over the years he trained under Professor Oak. He flipped through until he found the page on training bird Pokémon. He scanned over the techniques he'd learned and the ones he devised himself based on his teachings. He heard from the professor that Pokémon like Pidgeotto could learn powerful flying type moves like Brave Bird, a move where the user soars directly into a foe after plummeting at neck breaking speeds from immense altitudes. This move, Ash thought, would put him in good stead when he started challenging the gyms.<p>

"OK, Spearow. Pidgeotto." He addressed his Pokémon, once they were out of their pokéballs. "Here's what I want you to do." He flipped his notebook round to show a series of illustrations he doodled in a lecture once, depicting a bird shaped Pokémon performing Brave Bird attack. "To perform Brave Bird, you need to get over fears of having a dodgy impact with an opponent." He repeated the lecture in his own words. As he taught Pidgeotto and Spearow how to get over these inhibitions, Misty and Gary were having a discussion of their own.

* * *

><p>"So… what happened with Ash when he was five?" Misty asked. Gary looked towards his adopted brother, and gave a sad smile. He turned back to Misty, and sighed.<p>

"Well… on the day of his fifth birthday, Ash's house was attacked by a group of murderous thugs called Team Rocket." He told her, spitting the name 'Team Rocket' as if it were bitter poison. "They burnt the house, killing Delia in the process." He wiped away a small tear that started to bead in his eye. "Then, from what Ash has told me and Gramps, he was attacked by a girl and her Ekans, which bit him with the intention of killing him with venom. He was extremely lucky Gramps got there as fast as he did. Otherwise…" He didn't finish his sentence, as the lump in his throat threatened to choke him if he spoke another word. Misty looked back to Ash, who was now instructing Pikachu on what technique he wanted him to train with, and couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid.

"And… has he always had this hatred of them?" She asked slowly. Gary nodded and wiped his eyes dry, thinking happier thoughts about how Ash survived that night, rather than what might've been if things hadn't gone so well.

* * *

><p>With Pidgeotto and Spearow practising Brave Bird, and Pikachu now working on strengthening his tail by jumping through the trees using his tail like a springboard, Ash turned his attention to Caterpie.<p>

"OK, Caterpie." He addressed the bug, who looked up at him expectantly. "I'm sorry to say this, but you're not strong enough yet to try training with any of the others, yet. But… I have a special form of training for you." Caterpie's eyes widened with delight at the sound of this. "I'll be training you myself." His training announced. So Ash assumed his battle stance from training with Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan. Caterpie eyed him nervously, knowing for a fact that he'd have a severe disadvantage against a human. "Don't worry, Caterpie." Ash reassured his hesitant sparring partner. "I'm not gonna go too rough on ya, and I'll tell you what to do during the bout." He offered, settling the worm.

Ash dashed forward, ordering his Caterpie to try using string shot on his foot. Caterpie fired, but Ash dodged with a skip, and kept charging forward. "You've gotta be a lot faster than that, small fry." Ash teased, winking slyly at the insect. Caterpie started to worry, and started rapidly firing blast after blast of string shot. All of which Ash dodged absentmindedly. Soon, Ash was practically on top of his caterpillar Pokémon, and he tagged it gently on the forehead, signalling the sparring round of over. "Good try, Caterpie." He congratulated. "But you freaked out. You got nervous, and went mad with your attacks. You need to anticipate your opponent's moves, and act before they happen." Caterpie nodded, and they started to spar again.

Again, Ash ran for Caterpie. But this time, Caterpie stood still and observed. He watched his trainer jump from his right foot to left and back again, and got into the rhythm of his movements. Once he was comfortable with the steady beat of Ash's run, the worm Pokémon waited for an opportune moment to strike. That moment came went Ash came close enough to a stone juttying out of the soil. The bug type focused its eyes on Ash's right foot, and started to count down. Three… two… one… shoot! The stream of silky thread connected with Ash's foot, sticking it to the ground just mere millimetres from the large stone. As Ash tried to lift his foot, he stumbled over the rocky growth, and collided with the forest floor. The resounding thud alerted everyone around. The bird Pokémon, Pikachu, Gary and Misty rushed to the clearing Ash and Caterpie were training in to find Ash laying on the ground, face down, with his foot glued to a stone with sticky silk and laughing. Seeing him laughing in content, rather than screaming in agony, everyone allowed themselves to breathe again, relaxing.

Ash stood from the leafy debris that had fortunately cushioned his fall. He pulled away the silky strands of thread that bound his foot to his trip trap and dusted himself down. "Well done, Caterpie." He applauded. "That was a very good string shot. If you keep improving your technique like that, and earn enough battle experience, I'll bet ya you'll evolve very soon." He gave his Caterpie a confident thumbs-up gesture, making the bug click and chirp in excitement.

"Oh, that'll be the day (!)" Came a sarcastic voice from the bushes. Ash, Gary and Misty all turned to see who were hiding in the shrubbery. Ash, however, had a pretty firm hunch of who it was. He snarled in displeasure.

"I know that voice." He growled.

* * *

><p>Sure enough, there were three very, unfortunately, familiar silhouettes of the three villains Ash had hoped were now dead.<p>

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"Urgh." Ash grunted, exasperatedly. "Not this crap again."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight."

"Meowth! Dat's right!" Ash was _not_ having any of these threes' pissing around.

"You three!" He snarled, dangerously. "I'm warning you once and once only. Surrender now, or prepare to face a slow, painful and gruesome death while I laugh in your faces and spit in your eyes." Although the dangerous tone in Ash's voice made both Misty and Gary shudder in terror, Team Rocket just laughed mockingly.

"Oh, isn't he a feisty little boy?" Jessie sneered, tauntingly.

"A little Pidgey who doesn't know when to quit." James added. The sneers and jeers he was receiving made Ash's face shine crimson in rage. He clenched his fists so tight, they were close to drawing blood. The two Rockets smirked at this, enjoying the hate vibe Ash was now radiating like a broken nuclear reactor core. "Hand us the Pikachu." James ordered. "And we may consider letting you live." He offered hollowly, smirking as he said it, which gave Ash his doubts. He looked down at his Pikachu, then back to the Team Rocket trio before him, raising an eyebrow at their demand.

"Pikachu? Just last night, you three couldn't care less for him. And now you're demanding that I hand him over just like that?" He asked, incredulously.

"That Pikachu is no ordinary Pikachu." James justified.

"Yeah. Dat Pikachu's got the power levels to rival its big brudder Raichu." Meowth added. Ash screwed his face up in non-conception. Pikachu's suddenly special for having a jumped up electric attack with the aid of a dozen other Pikachu and the power of a front light of a charred bike?

Pikachu snarled at the Rocket trio before him, not prepared to surrender to these dicks. Gary stepped forward, standing beside Ash.

"Why don't you losers just bugger off!" He spat. Team Rocket, however, just laughed at him, making Gary sneer even more aggressively.

"Oh look." Jessie insulted. "Ketchum's boyfriend's stepping in to help." This comment sent Team Rocket into fits of laughter, while Ash and Gary bared their teeth at them.

"We're brothers!" They shouted, simultaneously. Team Rocket abruptly stopped laughing.

"Oh, whatever." James snapped back. "Hand over the rat, or else."

"NEVER!" Ash spat in retaliation. "Pikachu! Get ready to kill 'em."

"Pikachu!" The mouse shouted, sparking at the cheeks with a bloodthirsty look in his eye. Jessie and James threw their pokéballs, releasing Koffing and Ekans.

"Hey! Two on one is illegal!" Ash protested.

"We're Team Rocket, runt, we don't play by the rules." Jessie said, nonchalantly.

"Koffing, use sludge attack!" James commanded. The purple poison sphere obeyed and sprayed a black tar on Pikachu's face, sealing his eyes shut. The poor mouse struggled against the sticky slime that bound his eyes closed vainly. The sludge was not coming off any time soon. Ash picked the defenceless Pokémon off the ground, and cradled him in his arms.

"Your dirty tricks won't get you anywhere with me, you arseholes." He glared.

Ash handed the blinded Pikachu to Gary, and stepped forward to confront the criminals before him. "Well, if you're using two Pokémon… _I'm_ using two Pokémon. Pidgeotto! Spearow! Go get them." The birds cawed in obedience, and swooped into battle. James pulled out his favourite black rose.

"Koffing. It's grime time." He stated, coolly. The sludge spitting ball levitated between the bird Pokémon, which started to dart around in evasive manoeuvres to avoid its venomous mouth. Koffing released a splurge of slime, but the flying Pokémon were too agile, and the sludge fell to the forest floor with a squelch.

"Ekans!" Jessie shouted. "Dinner time!" Ekans licked its lips, and started leaping for the feathery foodstuffs, chomping down on thin air when they narrowly avoided its jaws.

"Pidgeotto, Quick attack. Spearow, get into Pidgeotto's slipstream and use Peck." Ash ordered. Pidgeotto dove for the snake, swiftly followed by Spearow, who's beak, which had been slightly elongated, was glowing white, ready to strike.

"Ekans. Go underground." Jessie demanded, smoothly. The snake burrowed into the soil, causing Pidgeotto and Spearow to panic as they noticed how close to the ground they were getting. They flapped frantically, to prevent colliding with the dirt, and narrowly succeeded. However, this diversion was the window Koffing needed to reposition to strike again.

"Behind you!" Ash warned, just before Koffing sprayed a Smokescreen attack. Luckily, Pidgeotto had turned in time to flap the Smokescreen away with his large wings. In retaliation, Koffing unleashed a barrage of sludge blobs at the flying duo, causing them to focus on dodging the attack, and not on the fact that Ekans had now jumped out of the ground, and was baring down on them.

"Look out, you two, behind you!" Gary tried to alert them. The birds split, flying in opposite directions, making Ekans missed them and face plant the dirt.

The birds flew into the sky, quickly pursued by the poison types.

"Counter attack!" Ash shouted. The birds tried Gust attack, but their opponents dodged. While the birds looked about, confused, they were suddenly set upon at all angles as Koffing and Ekans began smacking them around in mid-air. One final strike from Ekans' tail did the trick, and the birds could fight no longer. "Return." Ash cried, as he recalled the battered birds into their pokéballs. He snarled in anger at the evil trio before him. "I'll show you." He roared, as he rushed the now cackling threesome.

"Ash, don't." Misty dashed forward to catch Ash before he did something stupid, but he was already too far away for her to catch up.

In his rage, Ash swung a roundhouse kick aimed for James' face, which he blocked without blinking. With split-second thinking, the enraged child pushed his free foot off the ground, and landed the toe of his trainer into the purple-haired man's groin, with a terrible crunch. Gary winced at the sound, and Misty gasped, clasping her hands over her ears. James coiled over in agony, howling and wailing while clutching his now crushed crown jewels.

"Ooh." Gary winced. "I felt that." James started coughing in discomfort, as he tried to will the sensation back into his legs. Meowth leapt to his stricken comrade's aid, and unleashed a flurry of scratches to Ash's face. The boy managed to wrestle the enraged tabby cat from his head, and rush back to Gary and Misty, clutching his sore face. Misty rushed to Ash's aid, moving his hand away to inspect the damage done to his mug. The only blemish she could find were a bunch of red scratch lines all over his face. But, fortunately, no blood was drawn.

"You'll live." She reported reassuringly, turning Ash to face the Rockets again.

"How _dare_ you do that, you little squirt!" Jessie growled, as James continued to try soothing his nads.

"How dare _you_ kill my mother!" Ash bit back, as he applied a sensitive face moisturiser Misty handed him to his face.

"…Touché." Jessie, reluctantly, admitted. "Now, unless you have any more Pokémon to battle with, hand over that Pikachu, or suffer horribly as the result." She threatened.

Ash snarled, and thought through battle strategies he could try to get these guys out of his life.

'I can't try to fight them myself again, they'll expect it. And I _don't _want another run-in with Ekans.' He thought. 'And I couldn't _possibly_ send in Caterpie with no battle experience… could I?' As if knowing exactly what Ash was contemplating, Caterpie crawled past his trainer, and prepared for battle. Ash was struck dumb by this simple, but very foolish, action. "C-Caterpie?" Team Rocket gawped in confusion.

"Huh? What's that?" James asked, dimly.

"It's a bug! A measly little bug!" Meowth exclaimed incredulously. The fact that this little worm was prepared to endanger itself in battle was laughable. And that's precisely what they did. The three of them cackled in spite, pointing and jeering at the tiny Pokémon.

"Let's get the bug spray!" Jessie mocked.

Ekans and Koffing made a lunge at the poor innocent insect, making the helpless thing gulp in panic. Ash watched on, hoping that Caterpie's nerves would hold for at least one attack.

"You can beat them, Caterpie! Use String Shot!" Ash cried out. Despite its worry, Caterpie obeyed, and spat a stream of silken threads towards the rampaging foes. The silk wrapped around Koffing first, encasing it in a cocoon of thread, rendering it as useless as a hollow piñata. The mummified gas bag dropped to the floor like a stone. Ekans, enraged by his companion's defeat, lunged faster for the bug, only to have his head completely encased in silk as he was just inches from striking. With Ekans distracted by the blinding cast around his face, Caterpie charged towards Koffing, heading it like an English football, causing it to soar through the air into Ekans' head, sending them flying into a tree.

"Beaten by a Caterpie." James stated in anger. Meowth stepped up to the plate, baring his claws menacingly.

"Now, get ready to see a _real_ Pokémon in action." As soon as he said this, Caterpie wrapped him up in silken bonds without warning, mummifying the dozy cat in seconds.

Jessie and James, realising their battle was lost, ran over to Meowth, and picked him up uncaringly.

"Looks like it's time for Team Rocket to blast off." Jessie stated, and they made their exit.

"You may have won this round, Ketchum, but we'll be back to win the war!" James called behind them as they left.

"If I were you, I'd run and hide it I wished to live!" Ash threatened them, just before they disappeared into the dense woodland.

* * *

><p>With them gone, all attention was back on Caterpie. The poor thing was now panting for breath, after spending so much energy sustaining his String Shot attack for so long. Ash picked the little bug up, and smiled at him as he held him in his arms.<p>

"Well done, Caterpie. For a few minutes training, that wasn't a bad attack." He congratulated. Gary nodded in agreement.

"I never knew Caterpie could be so powerful. Even my Rattata would've chickened out if it saw those Pokémon."

"You're really strong, Caterpie." Misty complimented. Pikachu, would had now managed to wriggle away enough sludge to open his eyes, smiled at Caterpie, and flicked him a peace sign. All the praise and compliments – particularly from Misty – made the little caterpillar blush and chirp with glee.

"So, Misty…" Ash addressed her. "I bet you feel differently about Caterpie, huh?" Although this was partially true, Misty was still a little squeamish.

"W-Well, I-" Ash held Caterpie out to her.

"Come on. Please, Misty. Just pat Caterpie on the head and say thank you, that's all I ask." Misty looked at the bug nervously. "You like Pokémon, don't you? So, you should be able to congratulate one properly for doing a good job, right? Come on, I won't ask you to touch him again afterwards, I promise." Misty, shakily, walked towards Ash and Caterpie and, hesitantly, reached a hand out towards the caterpillar Pokémon. She whimpered and trembled as her nerves told her to run and hide, but she eventually made contact with Caterpie, and stroked it on the back of the head.

"T-thank y-y-you." She stammered as the bug chirruped happily at the content. After she said those words, she leapt back several feet, trying to recollect her nerves. Ash smiled kindly at her.

"Thanks, Mist. See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Unexpectedly, Caterpie started spraying String Shot for no apparent reason. "Caterpie?" Ash asked, placing the Pokémon down on the ground. The worm shot its string into the air above it. Slowly, the silk encased the Pokémon's body, and its form began to shift and change. The silk that that was now hardening around Caterpie began to glow.

"Your Caterpie's evolving." Gary exclaimed. Sure enough, when the glow faded, there was sat a Metapod. Ash pulled his pokédex out of his pocket, and scanned the green cocoon Pokémon.

"Metapod, Caterpie's next stage. It has encased its body in a hard shell. This specimen reached this stage faster than any previously discovered Pokémon of this variety." The device stated. Ash beamed with joy.

"Alright!" He fist pumped. He picked up his newly evolved Metapod, and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Metapod." Silence from the green chrysalis. "Not in the mood to talk, eh?" Ash joked.

"Wow. He really loves Pokémon." Misty commented. "Something tells me he'll be a fine Pokémon trainer." She mused to herself. Just at that moment, a Beedrill flew past her, making the redhead scream in surprise. "OK, great. You've got a Metapod now. Can we _please_ get out of this bug-infested nightmare now!" She demanded. Ash slipped Metapod into his backpack, securing it snugly around the lackadaisical chrysalis.

"No way!" He exclaimed, watching the Beedrill fly off into the forest. "There's still so many more Pokémon to catch in these forests, Misty. And I'm gonna need a lot of them if I'm gonna become the world's greatest Pokémon Master. Come on!" And with that, he dashed off deep into the forest with Misty and Gary running to catch him up as he pursued the buzzing bee Pokémon through the trees.

* * *

><p>From behind her bushy hiding place, a familiar someone was watching over the raven haired boy with tawny eyes. She watched as he rushed off after the Beedrill, with his friends struggling to hurry along behind him. She couldn't help but giggle as she set off herself, her nine separate tails flowing in the breeze as she enjoyed the chase of following her favourite human boy. One day, she thought. One day she'll make an appearance to him, and then they'll travel together. There was nothing in the world she'd ever want more.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Right, if I've done this correctly, this chapter will have replaced my moaning notice, and have alerted people who put this fiction on story alert, fingers crossed. <strong>

**Oh! And, by the way, I'm now OFFICIALLY a Beta Reader. So, if anyone new to the Fanfiction community wishes to write a story, but requires help from a Beta, I'm happy to oblige.**

**I've seen a comment about Ash's desire to kill Team Rocket, and I'm planning on having Ash kill off the lesser Team Rocket members first, like Atilla and Hun and Annie and Oakley and so on. But... I'm thinking of adding some OCs into the mix. So, here's where you people come in.**

**In your reviews, if you have an idea for an OC Rocket member - Grunt, Elite, Admin, any rank, I don't mind - please give me;**

**A. Their name/title(s).**

**B. Their rank.**

**C. What Pokémon, if any, they use.**

**E. Their number (if they're a single Rocket, or a group).**

**F. Any additional information you care to add (ie, how Ash meets them, what their mission is, how they're killed etc., or leave it up to me what they do, how they die and so on).**

**I have no expectations for how you want to invent your OCs but, one thing I would request is, I'd like to see some OCs named after historical figures to do with crime and justice, like Jessie and James are named after Jesse James, and Atilla and Hun after Atilla _the_ Hun. But, please, try to steer away from references to things like Adolf Hitler and other things that may be a little too extreme. I look forward to uploading chapter twelve next week. Til then... take care.**


	12. Challenge From A Samurai

**Hello, everybody. I'm back. And, to be honest, I'm very relieved to be bringing this chapter to you on time. It was a little touch-and-go when I had the panic attack of losing my memory stick, and nearly losing everything I've worked so hard on. But, the stick is back in my possesion, and here we are today.**

**Now, I'd like to pay tribute to the late author SSJ04 Mewtwo, who tragically died on the 15th of March this year. He was an AbilityShipper, mostly, in this line of pastime. I'm told by Swagnilla-Ice-1985 that he feels SSJ04 Mewtwo's best works are Elemental Battles, Black and Purple, and Empathic Advenures (the latest now being on hiatus, until eclipse2025 - his beta - decides what to do with it). He wrote a total of 35 stories, and I'd like each and every one of you to please read, at least, one of them. I'm sure it'd mean a lot to him. A quote from his sister, Jennifer Dawson: "Jeffrey died of a ruptured aortic aneurysm. there was nothing anyone could do and he died peacefully in his sleep." His burial service was hosted on Monday 19th of March. Rest In Peace, SSJ04 Mewtwo. Keep writing up there in Heaven for us to read when we join you.**

**My shout out today goes to Lightningblade49 for my 75th review, thank you. And thank you to everyone who's, so far, submitted your OC suggestions. All ideas are being considered, and I'll use as many of them as I can, so please keep those coming in. So... on with the next chapter.**

* * *

><p><span>Challenge From A Samurai<span>

A trill screech echoed through the thick forest. The culprit was a… oh, you know who it is. She was up in a tree clinging on for dear life onto a branch.

"What's the matter, now?" An exasperated Ash asked the redhead.

"I think I just saw another bug. GROSS!" She wailed. Ash, Gary and Pikachu all sighed at Misty's, now very annoying, habit of overreacting whenever the slightest bit of movement went on in the bushes. Sure enough, however, a caterpillar Pokémon with a large horn on its head came crawling out of the bushes. Misty leapt from her perch from the tree and hid behind Ash in fear.

"Wow. A Weedle!" Ash exclaimed, pulling Dexter out of his pocket.

"Meh. I caught one of those on my first day." Gary stated, running a hand through his thick chestnut locks. "They're not very hard to catch, Ashy-boy." Ash scanned the hairy bug Pokémon with the pokédex.

"Weedle. The stinger on this Pokémon's head guarantees that any attacker will 'get the point' right where it hurts." The Dex stated, making a bad emphasis on the 'get the point' pun.

"A stinger, huh? Now there's a challenge." Ash contemplated, much to Misty's chagrin.

"Why are you so excited about a bug with a stinger! _MAKE IT GO AWAY!_" She squealed.

"You've gotta be kidding." Ash protested. "As a water type trainer, I doubt you'd pass up the opportunity to catch a Pokémon like Horsea just because I think it looks derpy. The same thing applies to me, but with _all_ Pokémon. So I'm gonna catch Weedle, no matter what. Let's go Pikachu." However, Pikachu was tucked up in a little duvet, making Ash Misty and Gary stumble. Ash rubbed the back of his head. "More in the mood for sleep are ya?" He asked. "Well, I guess the past two days _have_ been a little overexerting." Which was true. Ash _had_ been making Pidgeotto, Spearow and Pikachu train a lot lately. But, in this case Pikachu was just being lazy, and Ash knew it. "Well, never mind. I still have Pidgeotto, Spearow and Metapod and they give me the respect I deserve, rather than being lazy like you."

"You deserve to have your head examined." Misty huffed. But a slightly tickly sensation on her leg drew her attention. She glanced down at her foot and found that the Weedle was trying to climb up her leg, affectionately. But, affectionate or not, it was unwanted contact from the slimy insect. And it creeped her out to no end. She ran off, screaming. "Don't just stand there!" She shouted at Ash, not attempting to look back. "Catch it!"

"Right. Go, Spearow!" Ash called, throwing the pokéball of choice into battle. The bird that popped out cawed in obedience, awaiting orders.

* * *

><p>The redhead was storming and stropping through the trees of the forest, pounding her feet as hard as she could into the dirt road.<p>

"This whole forest is _crawling_ with slimy, disgusting Pokémon." She complained. "I wish they'd all just _bug off_!" Not far away, a mysterious figure pulled a rather gruesome looking katana from its sheath. The blade glinted as it was greeted by the dappled sunlight from the forest canopy. Misty heard the metal twang as the sword was unsheathed, but reacted a little too late, as she found herself forcibly grabbed, and spun around so her back was pressed up against a tree, with a cold, sharp, metal edge resting even so lightly on her neck. She scrunched her eyes up as tightly as she could and tried desperately – although she failed – to suppress her terrified whimpers. "Please don't hurt me." She cowered, too scared to open her eyes, lest she found her captor to be a rapist. She was given a cause for relief, however, when the blade was brought down from her throat. She opened her eyes, ever so cautiously, only to find a kid in a stupid looking samurai costume standing before her, holding his katana that _was_ once threatening her life in a defensive position as if it were now _Misty_ who could endanger a life.

"Greetings fair shrieking maiden." The samurai welcomed her. "Are you, by any chance, the Pokémon trainer from the town of Pallet?" All Misty could do was shake her head in frantic panic.

"No. That's not me." She stammered, nervously.

"A pity." The samurai stated, disappointedly re-sheathing his blade. "Then it appears my search continues." He turned his back on Misty, before giving her a parting piece of advice. "I would advise you to decease with your continual shrieking, maiden. That is… unless your aim is to attract an angry horde of Beedrill." And with that, he departed, fading off into the woods. Misty, relieved that her neck was still in one piece, sank to her knees as she watched the weirdo kid stalk away.

"What a weird kid." She muttered. "I wonder why he'd be looking for a Pokémon trainer from…" She gasped in horror as the realisation sank in. "THAT'S ASH!" She shouted, fearing that this kid was aiming to do serious harm to him.

* * *

><p>Back <em>with<em> Ash, and he was just about finishing his work with weakening Weedle before attempting a capture. Gary, meanwhile, was waiting for him to finish his capture attempt by reading a book he packed for his travels.

"Alright Spearow. Let's see how your Brave Bird's coming along!" He ordered. The Spearow flew, without hesitation, towards the small bug Pokémon, tucking its wings beside its body, and shrouding itself in flames at the atmospheric fiction on its feathers heated up. Soon, the flames were replaced by a blue aura, which fully coated Spearow's body. The bird, fearlessly, plummeted towards Weedle, and slammed its beak slap bang on the bug's head, knocking the poisonous caterpillar out stone cold. "Right. That should be enough to have weakened Weedle enough for capture." Ash said pulling a pokéball from his belt, and prepared to throw.

Just as he was about to capture the dizzy Weedle, a voice spoke from behind him.

"Greetings. Am I addressing the trainer who comes from Pallet?" Ash kept his eyes facing Weedle, not wanting the bug to try escaping should his back be turned.

"You are. However, I'm a little busy. So can I please be allowed a couple of seconds to catch this Weedle, and then I'll address you properly?" He requested, politely.

"Very well." The voice replied. "But don't delay me." Ash nodded his understanding, and threw his pokéball. The ball gathered the conked-out Weedle in a red light, and began to rock from side to side. After a matter of seconds, Weedle was sealed inside.

"Yes!" Ash exclaimed, as he plucked the ball from the ground. "Not a hard catch, but a catch none the less. And Spearow, that Brave Bird was almost perfect. You just wavered a little a second before impact. I know that move hurts you, but it's a small sacrifice worth paying. Agreed?" The bird nodded its agreeance and began preening it's now slightly ruffled feathers. "OK. Now, you need a rest. Return." He instructed, returning Spearow to its pokéball."

The samurai unsheathed his sword, a glint in his eye.

"So, you admitted to being the trainer from Pallet?" He inquired. Ash clipped his new Weedle's pokéball onto his belt and nodded.

"I did." He confessed. Again the samurai's eye glinted.

"I found you at last." He seethed, readying his blade.

"ASH!" Misty screamed, as she hurried back as quickly as she could towards him. Ash turned to face her, only to be met by the sight of a samurai swinging his katana down towards his head. Without thinking, Ash ducked the sword's blade, and manoeuvred himself behind the samurai, wrestling the katana away from him as he did. With the warrior no longer armed, Ash drew his own weapon – a katara knife – from his waistcoat pocket threatening it at the now terrified fighter's throat.

"ALRIGHT! Who sent ya!" He demanded, furiously. "Was it Team Rocket? Did they hire you to murder me? Are they trying to finish the job they failed half my lifetime ago?"

"Ash, stop. Put that kid down." Gary hurried over to Ash, grasping his shoulders carefully, for fear of provoking Ash with his blade. When Misty reached them, she was astonished to find _Ash_ threatening the _samurai's_ life. "Ash, this kid isn't an assassin, you're safe." Gary promised. Carefully, and reluctantly, Ash relinquished his hold on the samurai, who bolted away from him, trying to recompose himself from the shock.

"Dear sweet Mew, kid, you actually terrified me, there." The samurai moaned.

"Who are you?" Misty demanded.

"I am Samurai. Fearless warrior, and complete invincible in combat." Ash scoffed. "In _fair_ combat." Samurai clarified, to prevent Ash from gloating at how easily he was caught off guard.

"He's a Pokémon trainer who likes to test Pokémon the strength and ability of Pokémon trainers that pass through Viridian Forest." Gary added in. "I battled him three days ago. And creamed him, if I remember correctly." He smirked the last line.

"You were an excellent trainer in our match." Samurai confessed. "And you, oh raven headed one…" He addressed Ash."…you seem to know a good many techniques in self-defence. I'm very impressed. What dojo did you train at?"

"Well, I didn't train at a dojo, per say. I was trained by Professor Oak back in Pallet Town."

"Professor Oak, you say?" Samurai asked, sounding quite impressed. "Well, well. I never knew a man of his age could teach such technique. I must say, I'm impressed. But back to business. Let us engage in a Pokémon match. Let us see who triumphs."

Ash accepted the challenge, and the two trainers prepared for battle.

"You have the honour of picking you Pokémon first." Ash offered.

"Very well." Samurai accepted. "Pinsir! Assume battle mode!" He threw a pokéball into the air, releasing a large, bipedal stag beetle with a light brown body and three claws on each toe. Ash flipped out his pokédex.

"Pinsir. This fearsome Pokémon uses its powerful claws to put the squeeze on its opponents." The electronic encyclopaedia informed, still using horrible puns.

"Ooh, dear. That's going to be a struggle." Ash confessed. However, he wouldn't allow himself to get defeatist. 'How can I win against this guy's Pinsir?' He schemed in his head. 'I can't use Spearow, it needs to rest. Weedle's a new addition to my team, and it'll be pretty Ronnied after fighting Spearow. Metapod can't move a lot at his current evolutionary stage. That leaves Pikachu and Pidgeotto.' "OK, Pikachu. Let's go." Pikachu nodded, and bounded into battle. Pinsir glared at Pikachu in such a way that, if looks could kill, Pikachu would be on Death's doorstep. The mouse gulped nervously, but stood his ground.

"You have the first move." Samurai offered, generously.

"Fine. Pikachu, Thundershock attack!" Ash commanded. Pikachu charged up his electrical energy, and released a stream of electricity for his stag beetle foe. However, the Pokémon calmly side-stepped the attack, much to Ash and Pikachu's horror.

"Child's play." Samurai smirked. "Pinsir, Tackle attack!" He commanded. The giant bug charged brazenly towards the stunned rodent. So paralysed was Pikachu that he didn't know, until too late, how close Pinsir had gotten to him. The giant beetle slammed full force into him, sending him flying through the air in clumsy back flips. Ash held his arms out to catch the soaring mouse, catching him softly and carefully.

"Pikachu! Are you OK?" He asked, earning a smile and a nod from his stricken pal. "I'm sorry for pitting you against Pinsir so soon, buddy." Ash apologised, getting an understanding lick on the cheek from Pikachu. He placed Pikachu down on the ground next to him, and stared down the opponent, who was now looking tougher than he thought. 'Right. Well, if Pikachu can't take him down, then I don't know if even Pidgeotto would stand a chance, despite the obvious type advantage. That Pinsir seems to be a pretty high level. And those claws could easily crack a few bones.' Ash calculated. Then, an idea came to him. 'But what about a hardened shell?' He reached for his pokéball of choice, released his green cocoon.

Samurai scoffed at Ash's incompetence. Sending in a Metapod to fight against his Pinsir? Metapod is notorious for being static and completely useless in combat. This would be too easy.

"Only a novice sends such a defenceless Pokémon into battle. Pinsir! Grab Metapod in your horns." The large stag beetle scooped up the helpless cocoon in its giant thorny antlers, and started to apply pressure. Misty, Gary and Pikachu watched in horror as the giant Pinsir threatened to crack Metapod in half like a hazelnut.

"Ash! Do something. Save Metapod. Not even a bug deserves that." Misty shouted, seeing Ash not even blinking as he watched Pinsir threaten his Pokémon's life. Ash just watched as Pinsir constricted the static chrysalis tighter and tighter.

"Harden!" He commanded. Metapod obeyed, and hardened its shell as hard as stone, adding a crystalline sheen to its exoskeleton. Pinsir, undeterred by this seemingly feeble attempt to fight back from the cocoon, squeezed its foe even tighter with it horns, but ended up snapping one of the mighty antlers, causing Pinsir to wail in agony. Samurai, hurriedly, retreated his stricken Pokémon, glowering at the trainer before him, who was smirking smugly. "Now who's the novice?" Ash gloated. Samurai snarled, and threw another pokéball, releasing his own Metapod into battle. Ash, Misty, Gary and Pikachu sweat dropped. Metapod? Really? And Samurai was calling _Ash_ a novice? This was going to be a long fight, as Ash was sticking to the rule of two Pokémon only.

"Metapod. Harden." Samurai ordered.

"Well then, _you_harden as well, Metapod." Ash followed. And thus, the dullest and daftest Pokémon battle in history. The two cocoons stood still as statues, hardening their shells for no good reason.

* * *

><p>Hours passed. Noon… lunchtime… four in the afternoon. By now, Gary had gone gallivanting around in the forest, looking for more Pokémon to catch, while Misty and Pikachu took to working on their tans in the summer Sun. Ash was now, officially, bored out of his skull. Suddenly, an idea came to him. He facepalmed, actually leaving a hand shaped mark on his face.<p>

"Metapod, I've just remembered." He muttered into his palm. "Use Tackle." Metapod rolled his eyes, but flicked his foot, smacking against his opponent, which only succeeded in knocking the other over, not so much as making the Pokémon flinch. Ash sighed, but not as heavily as Misty, who was now off her sunbed and properly dressed.

"You're as hard headed as your Metapod!" She shouted. As soon as she'd spoken, the sound of an obnoxious buzzing was heard.

"A Beedrill swarm approaches. Our match must end." Samurai reported. "Metapod, return." He ordered. In the background of the forest, the swarm came into view, following a sprinting Gary angrily.

"Beedrill." Ash whipped out his pokédex.

"Beedrill. This Pokémon is an evolved form of Weedle, following its Kakuna stage. Its sting is highly poisonous."

"It looks like your friend there has aggravated te Beedrill. Good day." Samurai turned tail and ran, like the coward we all know is was.

Gary came charging past Ash and Misty, swiftly followed by several dozen Beedrill. One Beedrill, in blind fury, grabbed Ash's Metapod, and carried him away into the trees.

"Metapod!" Ash shouted. "No! Get back here with my Metapod you thieving cockroach!" He called, giving chase. Misty and Pikachu, however, grabbed him, and pulled him away in the direction Samurai went.

"Come on Ash. We need to get out of here. We'll have to worry about Metapod later." Misty panted as she dragged him away from the Beedrill that were following them close behind.

* * *

><p>Samurai, Gary, Misty, Ash and Pikachu ran as fast as they could, but the Beedrill were closing in fast. Eventually, Samurai turned a sharp left at a bush to hide, swiftly followed by the rest. Luckily, the Beedrill swarm flew past without realising they'd passed their targets. They sighed in relief… only to find themselves out of the frying pan and slap bang in the middle of the fire.<p>

Before them were a good several dozen trees lined with Kakuna.

"A whole hive of Kakuna." Samurai mused. Ash pulled his pokédex out again.

"Kakuna. A transitional stage between Weedle and Beedrill. Kakuna remain inactive until evolving into deadly Beedrill and hatch." Ash scanned the trees from canopy to root. Each one had Kakuna stuck to the branches, the trunk, everything wooden. At the base of one particular tree, however, was a cocoon that looked nothing like a Kakuna. It looked more like…

"METAPOD!" Ash almost leapt for joy, if Misty and Gary didn't try to silence him for shouting.

Too late, however. One of the Kakuna had heard Ash, and was now eying them angrily. The four kids watched in horror as at least three dozen Kakuna started to split the skin on their backs, releasing a white light. Quickly emerging from the shells came some very angry looking Beedrill. The turned to the intruders who disturbed their peace, and who may be posing a threat, buzzing furiously.

"Uh oh." Gary gulped. "That's not very good." He was right. The Beedrill swarmed, and started towards them. Without thinking, Ash and company took off again, screaming for their lives. A saving grace, however, quickly came into view through the trees.

"MY CABIN!" Samurai shouted to be heard above the impending buzzing. "I think we can make it!" They zeroed in on the log cabin, and piled in, slamming the large oak door on their way in, to block the pissed bees outside.

Safe and sound… well, sort of… inside, Ash allowed himself to slump against the far wall from the door to the cabin, and sigh with relief. Samurai shrugged himself out of his armour, and allowed himself to ease up a little. However, he turned to Gary, looking a little angry.

"You! What did you do to anger those Beedrill!" He fumed. Gary, not one to take criticism sitting down, jumped straight onto the offense.

"Me! How can _I_ have done anything? I was looking for more Pokémon to catch, wandered into territory a hive of Beedrill didn't like to share and they attacked. It wasn't _my_ fault." He sneered.

"No one is at fault here." Ash stated, in a deadpan tone. "But the bottom line, for me at least, is that my Metapod is now trapped in a hive of Kakuna, numbers of which only Mew knows are ready to evolve, and I can't get to him without getting stung to death by those Beedrill."

"Well there's nothing we can do about that for now." Samurai told him. "We'll have to sleep for the night, and hope those Beedrill calm down tomorrow."

They all settled for the night. Well, all but one. Easy to guess which one, isn't it? Yes, it was Ash. He was wide awake, still fretting over his Metapod, and how the poor thing must be feeling.

"Metapod." Ash muttered, tearfully. "I swear… I swear to you I'll save you. I promise." He nestled further into his sleeping bag, but sleep never embraced him.

* * *

><p>The next day dawned, and just as the Sun was peaking ever so slightly above the horizon, Ash – who had been up and dressed for an hour and a half, snuck out of the cabin, and made his way to the Beedrill hive. Luckily, all the Beedrill were fast asleep in the tree branches, but he still kept himself as low as he could squash himself into the dirt, performing a crawl very similar to the one used in military trainer for army soldiers.<p>

His tactic was foiled, however, when something leapt out at him and scratched him across the face.

"What's wakes you up at the crack of Meowth scratch?" Came a cocky, and mocking, New Jersey accented voice. Ash snarled as he prepared to throttle the ballsy cat that stood before him. But, his actions were interrupted by a very annoyingly familiar chant.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double." Ash turned his attention to Jessie and James, snarling in displeasure at their reappearance.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce…"

"I can't be bothered to pay attention to you pricks this morning!" Ash snarled, viciously. His interruption of the Team Rocket motto did _not_ sit well with Jessie.

"Never interrupt the Team Rocket motto!" She hissed a warning at him.

"But the Beedrill…" Ash tried to reason, but was cut off by the duo continuing.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Keep your bloody voices down you'll disturb the Beedrill." Ash tried to hush them. This, however, only succeeded in them making themselves louder.

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight."

"Meowth! Dat's right!"

Coloured smoke flashes exploded behind Jessie and James, for dramatic effect. And it _had_ a dramatic effect, alright. On the Beedrills' attitude. They awoke with a start, which didn't best please them. Infuriated, they emerged from their trees to find the perpetrators who disturbed their slumber. Ash, having feared this of happening, had already thrown himself face down into the dirt, and was keeping as low a profile as he could so the Beedrill wouldn't notice him. Luckily for him they didn't. _Un_luckily for Team Rocket, they _did_notice them. The Beedrill locked their sights onto the meddlesome trio, and began to dive-bomb for them. Having no form of protection present Team Rocket were forced to retreat. They legged it as quickly as they could away from the pissed swarm.

* * *

><p>Ash, meanwhile, had now gotten back to his Metapod, who was still rested against the tree just like yesterday. He smiled at his pokémon.<p>

"There you are, Metapod. Here…" He offered Metapod its pokéball, enlarging it. "…get back into your pokéball where it's safe."

"Metapod. Metapod." The cocoon shook in disobedience. Ash clocked the look in Metapod's eyes. it looked saddened, betrayed and abandoned. He had lost Metapod's faith in him.

"Metapod." He whispered, saddened himself. A violent buzzing, however, drew his attention. He turned to find a Beedrill, who had seemed to have stayed behind as sentry to the hive, diving straight toward him. Ash grabbed Metapod from its spot against the tree, and ran.

He ran as fast as he could, leaving the Beedrill a good safe distance behind. "I didn't abandon you, Metapod. Honest, I didn't." He pleaded with his stoic Pokémon he held tightly in his arms. "Gary was the one who enraged the Beedrill, and Samurai's the one who diverted my attention. I had nothing to… WAH!" He tripped over himself in his haste, dropping to the dirt and sending his Metapod rolling along the grass. Metapod soon stopped rolling, ending up facing the trainer he assumed had left him behind. Ash lay on the ground, no bothering to move, as a realisation dawned upon him. "No." He declared. "I'm _not_ the victim here. _You_ are, Metapod. And it's all because of me." Ash raised himself to his knees, keeping his eyes shaded by his cap. "I should've gotten you out of harm's way sooner. I'm so sorry, Metapod. I really, truly am. I promise, if you'll forgive me, I'll be a better trainer to you." Hearing this made Metapod's eyes water. His trainer _did_ care. The sincerity in his voice, the remorse in his face… no one could ever fake those emotions. And Ash, clearly, wasn't. Ash got up and crouched before his Metapod, looking truly apologetically at him. "I promise, I'll never leave you, or _any_ Pokémon behind ever again."

A tender moment was shared between trainer and Pokémon, as they silently showed their apology and forgiveness to each other. The moment was shattered, however, by the angry buzzing of Ash's pursuer. The Beedrill homed in on his target, charging up its signature move; Twineedle. Samurai, Misty, Gary and Pikachu turned up, with Samurai holding a giant bug mesh over them."

"Ash!" Misty and Gary cried.

"Watch out for its Twineedle attack!" Samurai warned. But Ash had very little he could do now. All he could do was pray for a miracle.

That miracle was granted as Metapod, with renewed faith, leapt into the path of his trainer's assailant, taking a full-frontal collision with the bee's Twineedle attack. The force of the clash shattered one of the bug's arm stingers, sending it buzzing off in pain. But, there was another casualty as well. Ash's Metapod had taken a great gash down its front, leaving a crack in its shell. Ash caught the cocoon, and inspected the wound. Too deep. This, surely, could be fatal to Metapod, and there wasn't any form of treatment Ash could give.

"Metapod?" Ash tried to get a response from his stricken protector. "Metapod? Are you OK? Please say something, Metapod." He begged. The cocoon didn't speak. Instead, a white light erupted from the graze in Metapod's face, and an amazing sight unfurled in front of everybody. The crack widened, and out stretched a majestic looking Butterfree, about twice the size of Pikachu.

"Free, frrreeee!" The Pokémon chattered once free of its stuffy transitional state. Everybody was in awe. Metapod had just evolved up from Caterpie to Metapod and now to its final stage, Butterfree, in the fastest time ever recorded.

"Wow. How beautiful." Misty mused. Butterfree, hearing this, started tearing up at her words, and loop-de-looped in happiness through the sky. Ash drew out Dexter to record some data on his newly evolved bug.

"Butterfree. One week after Caterpie evolves into Metapod, it again evolves into Butterfree."

Everyone was watching Butterfree flit and flutter through the air gracefully, until an all-too familiar buzzing broke them out of it. Above the trees came the swarm of Beedrill again, looking furiously vengeful. Everyone watched as they made their approach.

* * *

><p><em>Not them again!<em> She thought to herself, tiresomely. _I've had just about enough of them trying to harm him, as if he hasn't had enough of this._She decided to take action. And there was only one way to do it.

* * *

><p>Ash and friends watched as the Beedrill zeroed in, looking for revenge. Suddenly, purple spheres started raining upwards into the swarm. Many of the mysterious orbs were evaded by the Beedrill but, one by one, each Beedrill was struck by at least one sphere and they started to waver and flop about in the air, dazed and disorientated. This was a lucky break Ash was going to take gratefully.<p>

"They're confused! Butterfree, knock them out while they're dazed with your sleep powder!" He commanded. Butterfree started to flutter around, spreading blue spores into the air. Once again, one by one, each dazed and confused Beedrill dropped from the sky, falling asleep on the ground – some even falling quite close to a now sleeping group of Team Rocket, who were _also_affected by the sleep spores. Soon, all the Beedrill were out cold, leaving Ash and Butterfree celebrating.

* * *

><p>Evening was now setting in, and Ash, Misty, Gary, Pikachu and Samurai were standing on a path that lead out of Viridian Forest, and on to Pewter City. "Thank you Samurai." Ash said, with gratitude. "But, we still have our match to finish." He reminded his newfound friend.<p>

"Compared to you, Ash, _I'm_ the novice." Samurai responded. "I underestimated your abilities. I prejudged you, and I apologise." He bowed in respect. "I realise now that you know full well how to train and command your Pokémon. I will train my own Pokémon some more, and I hope to meet you again someday for a rematch."

"That'd be great." Ash confirmed, extending his hand. Samurai accepted it, and they shook hands, parting as friends.

"Just don't put Metapod versus Metapod again, OK?" Misty and Gary asked, making Samurai sweat drop, and Ash rub the back of his neck, embarrassedly. And, finally, Ash and friends were off on their way to Pewter City, with Ash looking to obtain his first gym badge of his journey.

* * *

><p>She watched the three friends leave as Samurai made his way back to his cabin. She smiled to herself, and began to plan how she and Ash could meet… and how she could become his… and protect him.<p>

* * *

><p>The following day arose, and in a tree full of Kakuna, Team Rocket were trying to blend in to avoid being stung to death by any Beedrill that made be lurking about. Problem was, they were hanging from the tree branches in very uncomfortable papier-mâché Kakuna costumes looking like utter numpties.<p>

"Great idea, Jess (!)" James insulted his colleague, feeling rather grumpy.

"At least I _have_ ideas!" She bit back.

"Yeah, and all bad." Meowth chipped in, earning himself a kick in the face.

"Who asked you!" Jessie demanded. All her commotion, however, drew the attention of every Kakuna in the tree, _and _all the Beedrill, who were rudely awoken. The rest of the sleeping forest was awoken, shortly after, to the chorus of 'Ouch' and 'Eep' and 'Yelp' as Team Rocket faced their painful penalty.

* * *

><p><strong>And there we go. Episode 4 retold. Drop me a review, tell me what you think. Leave your ideas for Team Rocket OCs, and give me some ideas as to what Pokémon you'd like Ash to catch in the near future. Here's a question for you all;<strong>

**Do you think I should have Ash release his Butterfree when the time comes around? Personally, I don't see why Ash had his Caterpie evolve up quite as fast as it did, only to be released again around a dozen episodes later. I think the series would make sense with or without this episode, but you guys can call the shots here.**

**So, until next Sunday, farewell and take care, all.**


	13. Short sized Scyther

**Hello, everyone. A new week. A new chapter. This one's a little bit of a small filler for the series, because a handful of you wanted Ash to acquire a Scyther, so that's what's going to happen here. I was done with this about halfway into the week, so I've gotten a little extra work done on the next chapter but I'll still have one or two questions for you at the end of the chapter. No more deaths have been reported to me, luckily, so well done everyone else on your good health. Now, on with the chapter.**

* * *

><p><span>Short-sized Scyther<span>

Ash, Misty, Gary and Pikachu were walking down the path Samurai told them would take them to Pewter City, unaware of the painful torture a certain evil trio was undergoing this morning. However, there was soon a sound that alerted them to _another_ poor soul's torture. A sound of clanging and slashing, almost like knives being scraped against each other, came echoing through the trees. This was a sound that Ash didn't enjoy hearing. Clanging and slashing normally meant knife fights, and that wasn't going to end in happy smiles all round. He turned to Gary and Misty, who seemed to share his concern.

"We need to check what that is, guys." Ash told them, as if they had no other choice. And, actually, they did. Because Ash was off in a flash the second after he spoke, leaving his friends to rush after him.

* * *

><p>Ash ran through the forest until he came across the source of the terrifying knife fight sounds. There, in the forest clearing, was a pair of Scyther competing, cheered on by a gang of at least a dozen others. The whole scene was horrific to watch; two mantis Pokémon fighting so ferociously, looking to draw blood from the other. The thing about this that horrified Ash the most, however, was how unfairly matched the competitor Scyther were. One measured around a metre tall, about a third shorter than a Scyther should be, and was a darker shade of green than any other Scyther nearby. The other was twice as tall, and had blades more than twice as big as normal Scyther blades on its arms. An unfair matchup, no matter which way you tried to sugar-coat it. Ash pulled out his pokédex, and turned the volume down so he could hear the data, but not get caught by the warring bugs.<p>

"Scyther, the Mantis Pokémon. Its claws are sharp as swords, and it is a powerful flyer. This Pokémon is rarely seen by humans and almost never captured."

Misty, Gary and Pikachu managed to catch up to Ash, only to witness the end of the battle. The large Goliath Scyther struck down on upon his smaller opposition with merciless spite. The weakened, and very heavily bloodied, bug fell to the ground, smacking its head hard on the dirt as it landed. The rest of the Scyther cheered for the victor, who scoffed mockingly at his fallen foe, and lead the rest away without another interaction. With the group gone, Ash broke away from his hiding spot, and crouched down by the stricken Scyther's side. He checked for a pulse. Luckily, there were still signs of life, but they were weak. He shrugged off his backpack, and fished out a medical kit he'd packed. The Scyther opened one eye weakly, and eyed Ash as if he were a dangerous well-known, terrorist. Ash noticed this, and showed to the Pokémon he meant no harm, by bowing in respect, with his arms curved back. This was a sign of surrenderance in Scyther 'culture'.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Ash promised in a hushed whisper. "I only want to help."

Scyther, however, are very stubborn Pokémon. The mantis pushed Ash away, and shakily rose to its feet, eyes set on the direction his tormentor had gone. He made to pursue but found himself grabbed from behind by the persistent raven haired human. "No!" Ash shouted, pulling Scyther carefully to the floor. "I'm not having you trying to finish this. If you take one more hit from that Scyther, you'll never get up again." He warned. The Scyther tried to fight back, but was too exhausted, and slumped onto his back. Ash stood, and retrieved his medical kit. "Now, please. Let me help." He pleaded. Scyther, too weak to resist, just nodded, before settling to rest. Ash pulled out a bottle of antiseptic, a white cloth and a needle and thread, and set to work.

He disinfected the Pokémon's wounds, and started to sow them together once they were dry. Misty, being very squeamish around needles, as well as the obvious, stayed well away, while Gary and Pikachu stood close by, handing Ash any equipment he required when asked. After half an hour, Scyther was treated, and Ash was just finishing tying up the final piece of gauze on a particularly nasty gash on Scyther's hip. Scyther opened its eyes and checked Ash's handiwork. He gave a grateful nod, but still tried to set off in pursuit of the other Scyther for doing this to him. Again, Ash stopped him, looking the mantis dead in the eye. "Scyther. I'm not letting you go and try your luck again with that other Scyther." Ash hissed, seriously. "I know that you don't like to lose, no one does, but if you try to put up another fight so soon, you'll end up dead. And that's not a threat, it's a fact." Scyther stayed silent, looking rather uninterested in what Ash was saying. He wanted revenge. And that wasn't about to change. Ash sighed as he saw the resemblance between the Pokémon's intentions and his own. Scyther wanted revenge on the bastard who took over his swarm, and left him for dead. Ash wanted revenge on the bastards who killed his mother, and left_ him_ for dead. Their situations were very much alike. "Look…" Ash began. "I can see I'm not gonna be talking you down any time soon. Trust me I understand how you feel. _I_ suffered a horrible loss, not that long ago. And I've sworn revenge on those responsible. But… I took my time _preparing_ before I set out to take my revenge. I can help you, Scyther. If you'll let me, I'm sure I can help you train yourself into an excellent fighter. And, maybe one day, you may meet up with that other Scyther, and exact your revenge. What do you say? Deal?" He asked, offering his hand. Scyther looked at the human's hand, then into his face. He seemed to be genuine. He was offering him a chance at redemption, and in an honourable manner too. However, Scyther are stubborn, and don't particularly like hand-outs. Scyther weighed up his options, though, and realised this kid was right. He _was_in no fit state for revenge, so probably be wise to take his advice, and train. He placed his sword-like claw in Ash's hand, carefully, and the two shook, sealing the agreement.

* * *

><p>Night fell. When the Sun rises tomorrow morning, Ash will train Scyther to become stronger and fitter. Today, however, was all about recovery. Ash cooked for everyone, and did a damn fine job if he did say so himself, and aided Scyther's recovery process. While everyone was hunkering down for the night, only two figures stayed awake. Scyther was positioned away from the group, but still in eyeshot of them, thinking about how much he was going to humiliate the git who did this to him. And Ash was lying in his sleeping bag, keeping a wary eye on the bug, in case he decided to try and slink off without training.<p>

The night passed uneventful. Scyther and Ash had managed to fall asleep, Scyther mercifully cracking first before Ash slipped off. When the morning came, Ash was the first to wake up. First point of order; check Scyther's still present. Luckily, yes. Still propped up against his tree. Ash shrugged himself out of his sleeping bag, and dressed himself for training before gently awaking Scyther and Pikachu. "Ready to start training?" He whispered to the mantis, who nodded eagerly, although he didn't allow his face to show this. The trio, silently, slipped out of the campsite and left Misty and Gary to sleep in.

* * *

><p>The two figures stood at the edges of the clearing, silently staring each other down. On the right edge was Scyther, intently scraping his blade-like claws together to get them sharpened. On the left edge was Ash. He was dressed in his white dojo training trousers, top half naked, showing his toned washboard of a stomach. Strapped onto each hand, he had a pair of Tekagi-shuko gloves. And on his waistline, he had a pair of metal-bladed Korean fighting fans draped on a string. Ash broke the silence as he laid down the ground rules. "OK, Scyther… this is going to be a simple sparring match. I'd like to see your best techniques. Don't hold back." Scyther nodded, smirking as he thought of how to bring this kid down. Ash adopted his fighting stance, and nodded to Pikachu, who was stood in the middle of the sparring ring, to signify he was ready.<p>

"PIKA!" The mouse shouted, raising his paws above his head to mark the start of the sparring match.

* * *

><p>Misty and Gary were jolted awake by an awful clanging of knives. Misty, not being a morning person, tried to ignore it. Until she noticed Ash and Scyther were gone.<p>

"Gary? Did you see Ash or Scyther leave this morning?"

"No." Gary looked around the camp, noticing a third absence. "And Pikachu's gone too." The pair decided to follow the clashing noises to find Ash and Scyther; they had a fair hunch that they were behind the ruckus.

* * *

><p>As they followed the sounds through the trees, a series of grunts and screams started to become audible along with the metal slices and clangs. They continued to follow the noises until they came across the clearing in which Ash and Scyther were training. Standing in the bushes at the edge of the clearing, Misty found herself fighting back a nosebleed at the sight of Ash as he ducked and dived from Scyther's attacks. For a young boy of ten, he had a very well-toned upper body, with an impressive set of very defined abs. His arms were toned and muscular, but not sickeningly bulging or rippling like a steroid-pumped bodybuilder. The only blemish on his body worth noticing was a large scar running down most of the length of his right arm, most probably from the operation he'd have needed when he was five years old, and that Ekans had bitten him.<p>

* * *

><p>Scyther couldn't believe it. This human had been blocking his attacks left, right and centre without so much as batting an eyelid. This kid was <em>not<em> going to be as easy a challenge as he originally thought.

Ash smirked as he saw Scyther's defences begin to waver. His defensive strategy had worked. Now it was time to go on the offensive. He snatched the fans from his beltline, and started to swing the metal fan blades towards his sparring partner, backing Scyther into a corner as the mantis tried to avoid the slicing blades that were now coming within millimetres of his body. With a final flourish, Ash slammed one of his fans shut, trapping Scyther's right claw in the blades, and holding it against the tree the bug's back was now pressed hard against, and raised his free fan to the Pokémon's neck in such a way that he could puncture his jugular if he applied any more pressure. Scyther knew that when in this position against a Scyther opponent, there was no getting out of it alive. This signified your inferiority, and meant you were to die. However, the killing blow was never delivered, as Ash backed away, calming his body down out of its aggressive state, and offered a hand to Scyther in peace.

The bug was quite perplexed by this gesture. Ash let him live. A Scyther would never be so forgiving. Ash, however, kept his hand outstretched, with a wide smile on his face.

"Commiserations." He said, as Scyther placed his claw in the offered hand, and hesitantly shook it. "You fought well, I'll give you that. But… you need a fair amount of work on your technique." Ash critiqued. He walked over to his backpack, and picked up his waistcoat, slipping it on over his shoulder and buttoning it up. "Isn't that right, Misty and Gary?" He called, without looking back at Gary and Misty, despite the fact that neither Misty nor Gary had announced their presence. They walked out of their hiding place, with Misty looking quite perplexed by Ash's seemingly psychic abilities.

"That's right, Ashy-boy." Gary agreed with his younger brother, coolly. Ash turned back to Scyther smiling.

"The problem is you rely too heavily on outright power, and don't try to reserve enough energy for sneak attacks when your foe isn't prepared." He lectured. "I apologise for saying this… but you're clearly smaller than a Scyther should be. And that puts you at a disadvantage on the power front." Scyther looked a little disheartened by this comment. But Ash soon put an end to that. "But that doesn't go to say you're inferior. Being the smaller party means you can be a lot more nimble than a larger foe. All we have to do is work on your agility."

* * *

><p>Why did he agree to this? Why didn't he refuse to take Ash's help, and just pursue that other Scyther and end up dead? Believe it or not, only an hour and a half had passed since Ash and Scyther's sparring session, and for an hour of that time, Scyther found himself desperately ducking and diving between throwing stars, boomerangs and Kestrosphendone arrows. How could Ash keep producing these things from his little backpack? Scyther stopped thinking so much a boomerang came into view, on a direct course for his head. He raised a claw in defence. The boomerang smacked against the sword-like blade, and was sliced in half. With that final event, Ash stopped throwing his weapons. He straightened his back from his throwing stance, a satisfied smile gracing his lips. He stood still for a minute, making everyone wonder what he was thinking. Slowly, he began applauding Scyther, his smile growing slightly wider. "Congratulations." He said, making Scyther breathe a sigh of relief. His training must be over now. Ash walked up to Scyther, and patted the mantis on the back. "I'm very proud of you." Ash complimented. "Now what we need to work on is your timing of your attacks." He smirked, slipping his waistcoat off again, making poor Misty fend off another nosebleed.<p>

* * *

><p>Ash ran his tantō knives together in challenge, spurring Scyther into combat. "Now watch my movement." Ash instructed. Receiving a nod from Scyther, he lunged for the insect, knives at the ready to strike. Scyther observed Ash's movements, and calculated his optimum moment to strike back. Ash prepared his right arm to stab its tantō into Scyther's side. Noting Ash's preparation, Scyther readied himself to parry. There was an almighty metallic clang as the mantis successfully blocked Ash's swing. But he hadn't considered the second blade. Now that Ash was close to Scyther, he was able to swing his left arm underneath Scyther's blade, and rest the flat face of his second tantō blade on the bug's chest. The short spar was ended. "Good try." Ash said, smiling as he stood straight. "But you failed to anticipate my free hand. Never expect a single attack." Ash warned. "Battles aren't always as simple as that. Now let's try again."<p>

* * *

><p>Another hour of training followed. And, this time, Scyther was on the offensive, having worn Ash down. Ash was now the one sweating, if a whole lot less than Scyther was when <em>he<em> was the one backed into a corner. Eventually, Scyther found an opening in Ash's defences, and went for it. He flipped his body over Ash's back, and held a claw to his throat, pinning him against a tree. Ash smiled as he relaxed his arms, knowing full well Scyther wasn't going to kill him. Scyther smirked, and relaxed, earning himself a congratulatory pat on the back from the proud raven haired human. "You're ready." Ash congratulated. Gary pounded a fist into his hand.

"Now let's go find that arsehole who beat you yesterday." He exclaimed.

* * *

><p>The Scyther clan's new leader was revelling in his gloating since yesterday. He'd humiliated the freak who lead these Scyther previously, and they worshipped the very ground his feet touched. He was stopped mid-gloat, however, when he saw a very familiar, and very annoying, figure standing not too far up the path. The figure approached, flanked by three humans and a Pikachu. Sure enough, it was that differently-coloured, short-arsed little freak he defeated yesterday. The goliath mantis snarled as he eyed the short fry up and down, menacingly.<p>

'_When I leave someone for dead, I expect them to __**die**__._' He hissed, in his native tongue. '_Are you so much of a freak that you don't obey your own kind's laws?_'

'_I'm not a quitter._' The shiny replied, venomously. '_I'm a fighter. And I have a claw to slash with you._' The Scyther colossus roared with laughter, making the smaller start to grind his blades together in defiant challenge.

'_Very well._' The super-sizer roared, fearlessly. '_It'll be a pleasure to annihilate you a second time!_'

The bugs adopted their positions. Ash stepped forward, and placed a hand on Scyther's shoulder, leaning close to him to whisper in his ear.

"Remember your training." He instructed, before retreating to a safe observation distance. With a Scyther battle cry from the spectators, the duel commenced. The larger bug thundered across the field, blades raised, wings buzzing intimidatingly. However, not intimidating enough, as Scyther stood his ground, calculating his opponent's every move. As his foe neared, he prepared himself for action. The colossal bug came within striking distance of the smaller shiny, and drew back his right claw to strike. Scyther decided now was the time to attack, and effortlessly blocked the oncoming claw. With the claw parried harmlessly, he shifted himself with ninja-like agility to stand behind the Herculean mantis. Once in position, he struck the large bug in the back, causing him to hiss in pain. The beast span round as quick as he could to retaliate, but was too slow as Scyther struck his foe in the stomach, doubling him over. With the bulky insect incapacitated, Scyther pushed the weakened beast against a tree, holding both claws against the creature's neck. One simple move, and he could scissor his foe's head clean off.

'_Go ahead._' The oversized bug dared. '_Do it, freak. Kill me, if it'll make you happy._' Scyther snarled at the beaten, yet still cocky, creature. He lowered his blades, and stepped away, leaving all the other Scyther dumbfounded.

'_I'm not going to kill you._' He stated, with total finality. '_I just wanted to give you the humiliation you deserve. I didn't fight for my clan back. They were very loyal to me, and I thank them. But this human shows great promise. He taught me everything you saw me do. Keep the clan. I'm going to travel with Ash, and work on improving myself._' And with that, he stalked away from his defeated opposition, and back to Ash and friends.

* * *

><p>Ash looked down at the pokéball in his hand, smiling.<p>

"Well, that certainly was a good capture, Ash." Gary stated. "You didn't even need to battle Scyther. He seemed to have taken a shine to you." Ash smiled at the comment.

"I know." He shrugged. "I seem to have that effect sometimes with Pokémon."

"Mostly bugs." Misty gagged.

"I'm sure it won't be bugs _all_ the time, Mist." Ash reassured her.

"Pi, Pikachupi." Pikachu confirmed. Ash smiled at his friends and suddenly broke out into a sprint down the road.

"Come on, you guys!" He called to the bemused others. "I've been travelling a week and a half now, and I haven't even got my first badge yet. I wanna reach Pewter City by at least lunchtime, so hurry up!" And they all sprinted down the road to Pewter.

* * *

><p><em>There he goes again.<em> She thought to herself, shaking her head amusedly. _Off on his journey, not allowing anything to stand in his way. Soon, Ash. Soon, we shall meet. And I will help you achieve your dreams. I promise._She wiped away a small tear, and trotted off towards Pewter City, with her nine tails flowing in the gentle breeze.

* * *

><p><strong>Right. Ash now has a Scyther on his team. Three questions for you all now, and I <em>REALLY<em> need answers for these ones. Oterwise, I'm going to struggle heavily.**

**1. Should I have Gary sneak off every once in a while to do some mysterious training, and/or earn some extra badges? Because, if you remember the first series, Gary got TEN badges, instead of just eight, and about half of them weren't the official ones we're all used to.**

**2. I want Ash and Ninetales to meet in an absolute dire life-or-death scenario, so Ninetales can save Ash's life dramatically. Can anyone give me suggestions? The winning suggestion, when I write the corresponding chapter, will be given a shout out, and a reccomendation of a fiction they want promoted, Pokémon or not.**

**3. Do you guys want to see Riolu return when Ash gets to Pewter City next chapter?**

**Thank you all for your attention, everyone, I really appreciate it. Please don't forget to leave a review, tell me what you think, give me some plot ideas and some more Team Rocket OCs are still accepted, and I'll see you next week.**


	14. Rock Hard Leader

**Hello, everyone. Happy Easter, and I'm back with a new chapter. I'm actually uploading this one a little late. I normally upload chapters around midnight, ten past at the latest. THIS one, however... half past. Dammit. And... bad news. I don't know whether or not I may get the next chapter out next week, I'm going to be busy. So, if I don't get the next chapter out on time, I apologise. My shout out for my 100th review goes to RJO. Thank you for this amazing landmark review. OK... on with the chapter:**

* * *

><p><span>Rock Hard Leader<span>

Ash, Misty, Gary and Pikachu emerged from the trees of the Viridian Forest. They found themselves on a ledge side road overlooking Pewter City. Ash climbed up on a rock close to the edge of the road, and looked out at the concrete city in awe.

"Yay! Pewter City!" Misty cheered as she saw the Pewter sky rise.

"Phew." Gary sighed with relief. "For a moment there, I was starting to believe Ashy-boy got us lost."

"Ha-ha (!)" Ash rolled his eyes at the remark. From below their perch, a dark skinned man with a beard and a red hat covering half his face spoke out.

"Pewter City is grey." He said, in a gruff voice. "The colour of stone. This city has always been famous for stone." Ash looked down at the old geezer.

"Huh? Who are you?"

"Name's Flint." The man replied. "And you're standing on my merchandise."

"Oops. Sorry." Ash blushed as he clambered off the rock he'd sat on. He then realised what Flint had said, and found there were about half a dozen shelf racks holding a wide variety of rocks of different shapes and sizes. "Wait… you mean you sell rocks?" He asked, incredulously.

"Pewter City souvenirs." Flint responded, monotonically. "Pewter City is fairly well known for having its fair share of mineral deposits in its stone. There's also a good history of fossil findings here, too. I take extracts of stone from the richest mineral deposit areas of town, and sell them to whoever has the most interest or use for them. Wanna buy some?" He offered.

"Um… no thank you. I'm not much of a petrologist." Ash declined as politely as he could, while fighting the urge to sweat drop. He walked down a wooden stairway next to which Flint was sat. "I'm actually trying to become a great Pokémon trainer." Flint looked at Ash's Pikachu, who was sat on the stairs and gave an exhausted sigh.

"Well, your Pokémon sure seems tuckered out." He commented. "Why don't you follow me? I'll lead you to the Pokémon Centre." And with that, he stood up and started heading off into town.

"Wow. What a nice guy." Ash commented.

"Oh. By the way…" Flint said, coming back to them. "…that'll be a two dollar charge for resting on my rocks." This comment made the travellers stumble, rather comedically.

* * *

><p>After paying Flint his ridiculous charge, Ash and friends were in the Pokémon Centre. Ash had filled a pokéball tray with his pokéballs, letting Pikachu sit on the top, and was handing it to the nurse.<p>

"Can you rest my Pokémon for me, please?" Ash asked politely.

"Sure. Right away, Ash." Nurse Joy smiled. Ash looked at her confusedly.

"Huh? Nurse Joy?"

"Yes, I'm Nurse Joy."

"But… wait… this isn't Viridian City."

"The Nurse Joy from Viridian City is my little sister. I've heard some very nice things about you, Ash. Very nice." The nurse complimented.

"Oh. Thank you. So… I take it that there are dozens of Nurse Joys all over Kanto, right?"

"Right. But not just Kanto. All over the _whole_. No matter where you go, there'll always be a Nurse Joy."

"And do you all look the same?"

"Yep. And all have the same name."

"Oh. So… you're like clone characters then, are ya?"

"You could say that, yes."

"Well then, I hope I don't start travelling with someone who fancies all you Nurse Joys, that'll get a little tedious."

* * *

><p>She felt the fur on her back shiver as a minor disturbance coursed through the air. <em>Naughty, naughty.<em> She silently chided, teasingly. _You shouldn't be breaking the fourth wall like that, Ash. I would've thought you'd be raised better than that._She giggled.

* * *

><p>Nurse Joy picked up the tray that held Ash's pokéballs, and turned to leave. Before she did, however, she said to him…<p>

"Have you seen that poster?" And left with the tray as Ash turned to look at an official Pokémon League poster. The poster showed a person's hand holding a pokéball, with a caption underneath about the regional championships opening for the year.

"The Pokémon League regional championship. Cool."

"Ha!" Gary scoffed, teasingly, as he stepped in front of Ash, blocking his view from the poster.

"What is it, Gary?" Ash asked, knowing full well what his brother was going to tease him about.

"To compete in the regional championships, a trainer must collect the badges from different gyms in each town in Kanto as proof of victory on their travels. _I_ already have Pewter City's badge Ashy-boy." Gary gloated, opening his badge case to show off the silver Boulder Badge within. "Do you honestly think you can do that?"

"Of course I can, Gary." Ash protested.

The sound of gruff laughter pulled the boys and Misty's attention to Flint, who was making his way over to them.

"Don't tell me you're planning on challenging Brock, the Pewter City gym leader." He chuckled.

"Of course I do. How else would I ever get to compete?" Ash challenged.

"Fine." Flint shrugged. "Just don't expect to beat him." He finished, striding away with a chuckle.

* * *

><p>Ash, Gary and Misty sat around their café table, eating. Ash was attacking his food with a little more aggression than necessary, still fuming over Flint's mockery of him.<p>

"Ooh, that Flint makes me so angry." He snarled, shovelling another mouthful of noodles into his gob. "I'll show him what I'm capable of."

"Ash, gym leaders are different from your average trainer. Their job is to challenge trainers and their Pokémon to help them improve, so Brock's not exactly going to be a pushover now is he?" Misty reasoned with him.

"Yeah, Ashy-boy." Gary chipped in. "Even _I'll_ admit it, Brock's no noob at Pokémon battles." Ash stopped his shovelling to pay a smidge of attention to them. Misty smiled sweetly at him.

"Tell you what, Ash. If you ask me _really_ nicely, I'll help you out."

"Kind of you to offer, Misty…" Ash said, placing his bowl down on the table. "…but I'd like to earn Brock's badge my own way. That way, it'll be more like _I_ achieved it, rather than someone else doing the work for me."

"Oh. OK." Misty replied, a little down heartened by the rejection. "But just don't expect to beat Brock at the snap of your fingers." And with that, she wandered out of the café. Gary stood from his chair.

"I've got shopping to do, Ash." He announced. "See ya at the gym mate." He patted Ash's shoulder and followed Misty out the café. Ash caught a glimpse of a slip of paper on the table, and realised it was the flipping bill. Thirty pokédollars! For their basic lunch!

"HEY! You guys can't leave me with the bill. Oi!" He shouted in protest, only to be lumbered with paying the sodding thing.

* * *

><p>After lifting the weight out of his wallet, Ash was back at the Pokémon Centre, getting his Pokémon back. Pikachu was sat on the tray, smiling happily, now feeling fresh as a daisy.<p>

"Here we are, Ash." Nurse Joy smiled. "All your Pokémon are now right as rain." She said, sliding the tray forward.

"Thank you very much." Ash replied, collecting his Pokéballs. Pikachu leapt onto his shoulders, and smiled at him. "Now we're ready to face the Pewter City gym." He said with a look of determination on his face.

* * *

><p>Ash stood in front of the Pewter City gym, now flanked by Misty and Gary again, who'd both caught up with him not long ago. "So this is Pewter gym." Ash mused. It was a fairly basic, but still pretty impressive piece of architecture. The building was, in essence, a rubble pile, that looked like a flat sided bunker box. Not feeling all too phased by the grandeur of the building, Ash strode up to the doors in confidence, and flung them wide open. "Hello?" He called into the gym. He didn't receive an answer, but walked inside none the less. Inside was darkness. It was hard enough seeing one's hand in front of one's own face, let alone if there was anyone else in the building.<p>

"Who goes there?" Came a rough voice. The voice sounded familiar, but younger than the comparable example. A spotlight lit up, illuminating a young lad with brownish skin sitting cross-legged on a podium. He wore beige trouser, an orange t-shirt and a green body warmer. Ash turned to him.

"So you must be Brock." He assumed. "Nice to meet you. I'm Ash Ketchum-Oak, and I'd like to challenge you to a gym battle."

"Is this your first gym battle?" Brock asked, sceptically.

"Yes." Ash admitted, shamelessly.

"Gym battles are different to your average match. There are specially placed rules, in accordance to the official Pokémon League."

"I know about the league rules Brock." Ash replied. And this wasn't a lie. "One Pokémon is to battle at a time, and the earlier gyms in the region use two Pokémon each. As a trainer earns more badges, more Pokémon may be used in battle." He recited.

"So you've done your homework." Brock stated, nonchalantly. "How long have you been travelling with that Pokémon?" He asked, gesturing to Pikachu.

"A little under two weeks." Ash replied.

"Yes, that's pretty apparent." Brock said. "Your Pikachu is in its cutest state, unblemished from battle." Pikachu fluffed his fur, purring proudly at Brock's comments. "It can't win." But _this_ comment, made the mouse stumble. He growled in rage at the gym leader's nerve.

"You just worry about _your_ Pokémon. And I'll worry about mine." Ash snapped. "Fair deal?"

"Fair deal. As a gym leader, I'm obliged to accept all challenges, no matter what. So let's get this battle over with." Brock said, sounding rather bored. With a snap of his fingers, the walls at the sides of the gym parted, and a platform started to slide into the gym. Ash and Pikachu jogged gently back to the gym entrance, to avoid getting caught in between the two plates. When the tablets met, the arena was assembled. The battlefield that now stretched between Ash and Brock was littered with rocks and boulders, typical of a rock gym.

* * *

><p>With the assembly of the arena complete, Brock leapt from his podium into the gym leader's box at the edge of the stadium. "Let the match begin." He proclaimed, holding out a pokéball.<p>

"Alright then." Ash smirked, shrugging off his backpack. "Pikachu. I choose you, buddy." He said to his electric companion.

"Pi ka chu!" Pikachu exclaimed, and he ran onto the pitch, making his way to the centre point.

"Onix! Go!" Brock shouted hurling his pokéball onto the field. The form that emerged in the white light just inches before Pikachu made the little mouse stop and stare in mild terror, before the light dissipated; leaving behind a large serpentine Pokémon whose body resembled a giant chain of grey boulders, with a rocky spine on its head.

"DROOAARA!" The snake roared as it turned its head to glare down at the itsy bitsy mouse before it. Pikachu stood frozen to the spot, terrified. But, if Pikachu was scared… that was nothing compared to Ash.

Ash had grown stiff as a board. Every single muscle in his body had frozen, seized up and deadlocked itself, preventing him from moving a single twitch. Misty and Gary looked at him in worry. Gary facepalmed.

"Crap. I _knew_ there was something I needed to say." He cursed. Ash, by now, was starting to quake in terror. His jaws hissed in a stutter of abject horror.

"SNAKE!" He finally wailed, clutching himself tightly round the stomach in defence. This confused Brock. All he did was release his Pokémon into battle. Why was this kid freaking out? Misty ran to Ash's side, and wrapped an arm around him trying to soothe him.

"Brock how could you?" She chided the tanned leader. "Ash has an extreme phobia of snake Pokémon."

"Yeah!" Gary added. "You could've warned him. Or at least used your Geodude first, like in _our_ match." Gary realised what he said and covered his mouth. A little too late, however, as Ash was now staring at him murderously.

"You knew he had a snake and you didn't _warn me!_" He snarled. Gary rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Heheh. I forgot. Sorry, Ash." He apologised. Ash's glare didn't soften, though.

"Gerald Samuel Oak, I am going to _KILL_ you!" He snapped, making Gary flinch.

Pikachu had now regained control of his body, and ran back towards Ash, skidding to a halt at his feet. He clambered up his trainer's leg, and tried to press the button on one of the other Pokémon's pokéballs. But before he could finish scrambling with Ash's pokéballs to get a replacement, Ash stopped him. "Hey, whoa, oi." He exclaimed. "This is _you're_ fight, Pikachu, not Scyther's. Now go on." He urged the mouse pushing him onto the field. Pikachu, with a sense of great trepidation, wondered back onto the battle field.

"Onix, tackle attack!" Brock commanded. And, with a roar, Onix lunged at the tiny mouse in front of it, headbutting nothing but dirt when Pikachu managed to narrowly dodge the assault. As the snake straightened up, it watched Pikachu running round the field, and intercepted him with its tail, wrapping Pikachu up pretty tight. "Bind it, now!" Brock shouted. And Onix obeyed, starting to apply pressure to Pikachu's tiny form. The small mouse strained and squealed under the pressure.

"Pikachu, try to break outta there!" Ash shouted, frantically. He knew that electric attacks wouldn't have any effect on Onix, being a ground type. Pikachu tried his best to resist the tight binds that restricted his movement. But every time he wriggled, the vice-like grip got tighter and tighter, causing the poor thing to struggle getting air into his lungs. Ash's shoulders slumped as he started to realise that maybe he was fighting a doomed battle.

This feeling was only worsened as he heard Pikachu begin to cough and choke, as his poor little lungs were now running low on much needed oxygen. This was too much for Ash. He couldn't let this fight end in such a gruesome way. "Call Onix off!" He demanded. "I forfeit." Brock snapped his fingers, and Onix relinquished its foe, who fell to the floor gasping desperately for oxygen.

* * *

><p>Ash and his friends were now walking away from the gym. Ash was cradling Pikachu in his arms. The mouse was breathing normally now, but was obviously still shaking. "I'm so sorry for doing that to you, Pikachu." He whispered softly to his fallen buddy.<p>

"Pikachu." The mouse smiled back, resting a paw on Ash's chest, showing him he was forgiven. Misty and Gary looked at the Sun. it was reaching sunset, so they decided to go book a room at the Pokémon Centre. Ash let them go on ahead. He said he needed some time alone. He walked down the path into town, when a familiar figure caught his eye down the path. Ash walked up to the figure and found that, indeed, it was Flint. They looked at each other for a few seconds before Flint turned on his heel and started to walk away.

"Come with me." He invited, to which Ash obliged, and tagged along behind him.

* * *

><p>Ash sat in Flint's log cabin, watching his Pikachu sleep. Flint made his way over with a tea set. He sat down and poured himself a cup of herbal tea. "Everybody loses sometimes. You can't let that bring you down." He advised, seeing how Ash was a little cut up about the result of his battle.<p>

"I know." Ash admitted. "But it isn't the loss that got me, it was the fact that if I hadn't forfeited, Pikachu may have been suffocated by that Onix." The boy felt tears start to sting his eyes. "Pikachu's never battled before now, and I threw him right in at the deep end. How could I have been so stupid? I should've trained more. I should know that more than others." He was referring to the training he'd done for _himself_ with Professor Oak and Riolu, not that he'd let Flint know.

"Brock's a very good trainer. His personal talents could easily take him beyond being merely a local gym leader." The old man replied.

"That may be the case." Ash countered. "But if so, why hasn't _he_ competed in a regional championship himself, then?"

This comment stopped Flint from sipping his cup of tea, and pause in thought.

"He has his reasons." He stated, flatly, peaking Ash's interest.

* * *

><p>Flint led Ash to a house. They kept themselves hidden in the bushes beyond the house's garden so they could watch the occupants quietly. As Ash looked on, he found that this was Brock's house. Inside were nine little children, five boys and four girls, playing and reading together while Brock was in a little kitchen just beyond the living room, wearing an apron and hair net bonnet as he cooked on the hob. A little girl in an orange skirt came running up to Brock crying.<p>

"I tore my skirt!" She wailed, clinging onto Brock's leg.

"Alright, alright." He said, taking his attention away from his cooking. The tone of his voice sounded… not frustrated with the girl or anything, but more like this was nowhere near the first time she's torn a skirt. "I'll sow it up for you." He offered. He put down his knife and the vegetables he was chopping, and walked into the living room, retrieving a sowing kit from a cupboard. The girl slipped out of her skirt luckily wearing an underskirt as well, and Brock started to patch the fabric.

"Is it done yet?" The girl whinnied, getting a little impatient.

"Just a minute." Brock replied, soothingly.

Ash couldn't help but feel tears well up in his eyes as he watched the scene. Back at the gym, Brock looked so hard. So tough. But… at home… he was like a dad to these nine children. Flint led Ash down the streets of Pewter City, away from Brock's house. The two walked in silence before reaching the local park, where Flint started conversation.

"Brock has nine little brothers and sisters to take care of. This responsibility means he was never free to leave town to enter the regional championships." He informed the boy.

"What of his parents?" Ash inquired. Flint's face faulted slightly, which went quietly noticed by Ash. Flint knew a fair bit about Brock, and that – he suspected – was more than just close community bonds.

"His good-for-nothing father left his family behind to become a Pokémon trainer, and never returned. Nor was he ever heard of again for about a year or so, and he still hasn't turned up. Brock's heartbroken mother tried her best to hold the family together, but she eventually grew tired and bored of being stuck in Pewter City. So Brock told her to leave so she could get some activity in her life, and maybe bring his father back home. However, that of course meant that Brock was left with the responsibility of raising his younger siblings all alone."

Ash was now feeling a lump in his throat. This story was tragic, and Ash could sympathise. He lost his mother, and his father's been missing for a number of years. He knew the heartache of missing parents, but he never had any younger siblings to take care of. He could only imagine how Gary must've felt, having to try and keep Ash in check when Professor Oak was away at conferences and meetings and the like.

"I feel sorry for the poor guy. I'll be honest, I never knew my father that well. He went missing not long before I was five years old. And my mother…" His voice quivered as he mentioned her. Tears started to push at his eyelids. Flint saw this, and hesitantly placed an arm around the boy's shoulder. To his surprise, Ash didn't resist. Instead, he leaned into the man, despite the fact they didn't know each other that well. But Ash knew something Flint didn't know he knew. "I hope his dad returns." Ash hinted, making it seem as if he had no clue. "Then maybe he can travel out of Pewter City and challenge the Pokémon League." Flint stopped and paused, thinking about what Ash said.

"Yeah. Yeah, he could." He mused.

Ash dried his eyes, and straightened himself up.

"Well… I've gotta go get some training done." He said to Flint. "If I'm gonna beat Brock, I need some major, major work." He turned to leave. But before he took a step, he addressed Flint without looking back at him. "Oh, and Flint… leaving your family to become a Pokémon trainer doesn't make you a good-for-nothing father…" He glowered at the thought that drove what he was going to say next. "…never returning to them does." And off he went, leaving a rather perplexed Flint behind.

* * *

><p>At the Pokémon Centre, Ash was on the phone, waiting for a response. After a minute's wait, a very sleepy looking Professor Oak answered the phone, wearing a pink Jigglypuff onesie.<p>

"Oh, Ash." The professor yawned, rubbing his eyes. "It's half past ten at night. What's up?"

"Hi, Gramps. Sorry for calling so late, but I was wondering if you'd let me take Riolu out for a little bit. I need him to help me with some training." Professor Oak pondered over this request.

"Hm." He moaned thoughtfully. "Well… I _did_ say it may put you at an unfair disadvantage to use a Sinnoh Pokémon as your Kanto starter…" He said.

"Please, Gramps." Ash begged. "I need him to help me train Pikachu and the rest of my Pokémon. Pikachu nearly died battling Brock's Onix, and he wasn't even sorry for it." He choked on a sob. Professor Oak could see how badly this loss, and near loss of a Pokémon, had affected Ash, and pondered over lending Riolu to Ash for a bit.

"Well… I never said anything about using him as an extra training coach." The professor smiled, making Ash smile with him. "I'll go wake him up and I'll send him over to you right away."

"_**No need, Professor.**_" Came a voice form behind Ash. Ash turned round to find Riolu standing right behind him, smiling cheekily. It's worth noting here that as the years have passed and Ash has grown up, somehow, Riolu did as well. Not as much as Ash did from when they were five, but both human and Pokémon were now ten years old, and Riolu was perfectly able to comfortable look at the base of Ash's chest with a level head.

"Riolu? Wha- what in the…?" Ash found himself at a loss for words at Riolu's sudden appearance. The dog chuckled.

"_**I sensed your intentions and used our aura bond to teleport to you, silly.**_" He giggled. By now, Ash and Riolu's aura bond had grown so strong that Riolu could talk to him by speaking, and Ash could understand his Pokémon noises like human speech. He hadn't quite mastered this skill for all Pokémon, yet, however. Just Riolu and Dratini.

"Well, it looks like Riolu's – once again – one step ahead of me." Professor Oak stated, yawning once more. "Now, if that's all, can I now be excused to bed?" He requested.

"Just one more quick thing, Gramps." Ash said. "I know that the official Pokémon League rules state that a trainer can only carry six Pokémon around at one time but is there a way that a trainer can carry more?"

Professor Oak was taken aback a bit at this request. No other trainer had ever asked about carrying more Pokémon before. But, then again, it was normally the accepted system that each trainer was only to carry a maximum of six Pokémon on their person at any one time.

"Hm…" He pondered tapping his chin with his index finger. "Well… there _is_ a loophole in the league regulations that states experienced trainers, or trainers deemed worthy by a Pokémon League official, that states that a trainer _can_ be allowed to carry up to twenty Pokémon at any one time." He said. Ash's face lit up in hope.

"Really? Well… how to I show this Pokémon League official that I can handle twenty Pokémon at a time?" He asked, excitedly.

"Whoa, whoa. Hold your Ponyta there, Ash." The professor warned the excited ten year old. "To be allowed to carry so many Pokémon at once is not a privilege that's handed out willy-nilly. And there aren't any specific tasks set by the league official for you to contrive to do. The official would be monitoring you in secrecy. They'll monitor your training style, your care for your Pokémon, your participation in gym battles, and all other sorts of criteria to see if you're worthy to carry so many Pokémon with you." He explained. Ash looked a little crestfallen by this, however. It'd be hard, then, to be able to train as many Pokémon as he'd need if he were to try hunting down Team Rocket. "But, I have no doubt that you'd be a fine candidate for this honour, Ash." The professor finished, bringing the smile back to Ash's face. "I'll put in a request for you tomorrow morning to the league, and I'll notify you on how they respond. In the meantime, I suggest you get some sleep, young man, before you do _any_ training for your rematch with Brock. You hear me, Ash?"

"I hear ya, Gramps. Night." And with that, Ash ended the call. He turned to Riolu, and the pair smirked. Back at the lab, Professor Oak shook his head.

"He's not gonna sleep tonight." He chuckled warmly, and made his way to bed, yawning.

* * *

><p>Ash and Riolu stood in front of Ash's six party Pokémon like army generals inspecting the troops. Riolu was pacing up and down the line up, inspecting each Pokémon thoroughly.<p>

"_**Yes… just as I feared.**_" He muttered as he finished his inspections. "_**You're all too weak.**_" He stated, bluntly, much to the other Pokémons' chagrin and displeasure. "_**None of you have had any more than a week's training, if that much. And that's not gonna be anywhere near as much as you need. You're the sorriest bunch of Pokémon I've ever seen.**_" He critiqued, rather harsher than he needed to.

"Oh, now, steady on, Riolu." Ash chided, a little more playful than the other Pokémon were hoping. "I think they have at least _some_ potential."

"_**Oh, the potential's there alright.**_" Riolu agreed. "_**But what's **_**not **_**there is the Pokémon gut. They all look pretty spineless to me.**_" The fox mocked, smugly. Scyther, now sick of hearing this abuse from the small dog made a move, and lunged dangerously for Riolu, raising his claws ready to slash the Pokémon in the back. Riolu, however, was unfazed. He simply side stepped the oncoming attack and threw an aura sphere into the back of Scyther's knee.

"Ooh." Ash winced. "He used to be a fighter like you." He told Riolu, serious. But a smirk slowly crept its way across his face which suddenly became a fit of laughter. "But then he took an aura sphere to the knee!" He blurted out in tears of laughter. Riolu laughed along with him, while the other Pokémon sweat dropped.

Ash managed to calm down, and turned to the Pokémon, with a serious look on his face.

"Alright." He commanded. "We're going to need some serious training if we're going to have a hope in the world of beating Brock. Who's up for little training?" The Pokémon, enthusiastically, agreed.

* * *

><p><em>Why oh why did I agree to train?<em> Pikachu thought to himself. When Ash said he wanted Pikachu to think like a ground type Pokémon, he didn't think he meant he'd need to _**dig for his life!**_ Riolu had encased the mouse in some hippy rubbish supposedly called an 'aura shield' – some sort of force field that prevented Pikachu moving too much – and Riolu was now, relentlessly, throwing pebbles at him. And I'm not talking pebbles used on driveways. I'm talking pebbles the size of golf balls. Massive great buggers. These are the ones that could crack your skull open if they hit you in wrong place. For the past fifteen minutes the electric mouse had been frantically scratching and clawing at the ground, trying his hardest to escape the stony barrage. But all he'd manage to get were a couple dozen very dark shining bruises and he'd barely scratched through the grass. His paws were getting dirty, his body was getting pelted by rocks, and he felt like collapsing in a heap. And Ash wasn't being much of a help, shouting out orders like a son-of-a-bitch military officer.

"Come on, Pikachu! You can do it! You'll be fine, buddy. You're doing great." Well… at least he's offering support, rather than knocking him down. This gave Pikachu a final burst of energy. He sped up his claws and scratched as hard as he could at the earth soil beneath his paws. And finally, a breakthrough. He was removing massive chunks of dirt from the ground. He kept pulling out lump after lump of earth, and started tunnelling underground. Riolu stopped throwing the stones and smiled, lowering the aura shield.

"_**Well done, Pikachu.**_" He congratulated. "_**You've just learnt dig.**_" Pikachu sprang from his tunnel, and gave a happy shout.

Ash walked up to the celebrating mouse, and patted him on the back.

"Well done, buddy." He said, warmly. Pikachu smiled.

"Pika, Pikapi." He thanked. Ash frowned a little. A facial twitch Riolu was quick to pick up on.

"_**You wish you could talk to Pikachu like you can with me, don't you, Ash?**_" He asked, knowing full well what the answer was.

"You know me too well, Riolu." Ash smiled.

"_**Well, we can train **_**you**_** as well as the others.**_" Riolu offered. Ash nodded, and smiled gratefully to his little companion.

* * *

><p>Ash and Riolu trained each of Ash's Pokémon in turn. They trained Scyther by having Ash spar with him with a pair of katana swords. The two ducked and dived the others' attacks, parrying when they got too close to the other's throat, and evading without too much hassle. After a solid twenty minutes, Ash was rendered unarmed, and was now pinned onto his back on the floor, with Scyther holding one of his scythe-like claws to his throat. He smiled and laughed as he laid on the ground, defenceless. Scyther chuckled with him, and allowed the boy to stand. The two shook hand to claw. After, Ash turned his attention to Weedle. Now, while Weedle would be incapable of sparring, Ash could still find a way for Weedle to train. He had Weedle try using String Shot on Spearow, Pidgeotto and Butterfree. This would help work on both Weedle's accuracy and the flying types' agility, so each Pokémon was getting a different training method. While Weedle was trying to glob the flyers with String Shot, though, they had <em>another<em> obstacle to avoid. Riolu _and_ Ash shooting at them with aura spheres of gold and blue. This _really_ added a sense of jeopardy to their training, as those spheres were _not_ the softest of things. After a fair bit of time, the flying Pokémon were exhausted, and Weedle wasn't exactly fresh as a daisy either.

Suddenly, the hairy bug's body began to glow, and its form started to morph and shift. When the light dissipated from the bug, a Kakuna was left lying in Weedle's place. Everybody smiled at the newly evolved cocoon.

"Well done, Kakuna." Ash congratulated the pod. "Now I bet we have to wait a week for you to evolve into Beedrill. Won't that be exciting?" He beamed. Riolu stepped up to Ash, and placed a paw on his trainer's shoulder.

"_**How about we now train**_** you**_**, Ash?**_" He offered. Ash smiled gratefully, and nodded to his ever-faithful pup Pokémon.

Ash and Pikachu sat in front of each other, as Ash was eager to learn Pikachu's language first. "_**OK. Focus, Ash.**_" Riolu instructed. "_**Try to empty your mind of all thoughts. Shouldn't be too long.**_" The Pokémon all laughed at this joke, and even Ash saw the funny side. But, he did as instructed, and blanked out his thoughts. Once he was settled and not thinking, Riolu walked up to him, and rested a paw on his shoulder. The fox's paw began to shine light blue, and Ash's eyes started to glitter with a golden sheen. Soon, the aura from Ash's eyes slowly started to emerge as a pair of golden glittery streams. The powdery streaks slowly crept towards Pikachu, and connected with the mouse's own little eyes. The rodent stood stark still, hypnotised by the aura dust that was taking over his mind. After a couple of seconds, Pikachu's eyes began to shine with a bright yellow tinge. Then, just like when Ash and Riolu created an aura bond when they were five, the auras from both Ash's eyes and Pikachu's eyes started to fuse together, mingling and sharing between the pair. After a minute of mixing, the auras faded, and Ash and Pikachu came back to their senses.

Pikachu blinked, his vision a little blurred from the experience.

"_**Whoa, that was trippy.**_" He said. Ash smiled calmly.

"Don't worry. We won't need to do that anymore, Pikachu." He promised.

"_**I should hope no- ARGH!**_" Pikachu screamed when he realised Ash had spoken to him as if he understood him. "_**Did… did you just understand what I said?**_" He asked, a little panicked. Ash just nodded, making the mouse faint.

* * *

><p>Pikachu woke up to the feeling of a warm hand stroking his belly. He looked up to find Ash holding him in his arms, trying to coax him awake. "<em><strong>Ow, my head.<strong>_" The mouse complained.

"Don't worry." Ash cooed, softly. "That's normal. It takes a lot of energy to make an aura bond." Pikachu yelped in surprise.

"_**You're not just making a guess at what I'm saying, are you?**_" He asked, incredulously.

"Why would I need to do that?" Ash chuckled, putting Pikachu back down on the ground. "I can understand you perfectly." Pikachu still wasn't convinced. He needed a little bit more proof.

"_**Alright, then… what Pokémon evolves into Raticate?**_"

"Rattata."

"_**Who's the leader of the Pewter City gym?**_"

"Brock."

"_**How did we meet?**_"

"You were being hunted by an Ekans, and I came to rescue you." Pikachu stared in amazement as Ash answered each question flawlessly, as if he was having a conversation with another human.

"_**Oh my goodness, you can understand me.**_" He gasped. Ash nodded, grinning.

"How do you feel about challenging Brock today?" Ash asked, looking rather psyched. "It's getting on for lunchtime now, so I think we can challenge him in about half an hour." Pikachu nodded, and they set off for the gym, with Riolu tagging along.

* * *

><p>After lunchtime, Ash and the rest of the group found themselves back at the gym. Ash was now bristling with confidence. He grabbed the door handles and swung the doors wide open. "I'm back!" He called into the gym's darkness. Brock stepped into the new flood of light, chuckling mockingly.<p>

"Haven't you had enough from last time?" He taunted.

"This time, things will be different. We've had a little bit of a jump start." Ash countered. Riolu nodded in agreeance while Pikachu gave off a spark of enthusiasm.

"Ha. Very well." A very smug looking Brock replied.

The group went back to the arena, where Brock laid down the ground rules. "We'll each use two Pokémon. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

"I'll start with Geodude!" Brock yelled as he threw his pokéball into the field. As the capsule hit the dirt of the battlefield out popped a small round rock head Pokémon with two arms sprouting from the sides of its head/body. Ash contemplated which Pokémon he could use to battle Geodude. Being a rock and ground type, and Ash's team being full of flying, bug and electric types, Brock had a major advantage. He felt a tug on his arm, which awoke him to Riolu's presence by his side.

"_**Ash. Let me battle Geodude.**_" The fox requested.

"Are you sure, buddy?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow. "It'd be a bit unfair." The two of them glanced over at Brock's podium box, and smirked.

"For him." They chorused.

* * *

><p>Misty and Gary watched from the balcony above the arena as Ash's Riolu ran into the battlefield smirking at the rocky orb Pokémon that was opposing him.<p>

"Riolu, huh? Can't believe Gramps let Ash take him out this early in his journey." Gary mused. Suddenly, the pair were joined by Brock's nine younger siblings, who sprang from nowhere to watch their big brother's fight.

* * *

><p>Riolu stared down the living boulder, smirking confidently.<p>

"_**Get ready for a grade A arse kicking.**_" He mocked. The rock Pokémon just snorted in response.

"Alright, Riolu. Use aura sphere attack!" Ash commanded.

"_**Right you are, Ash.**_" Riolu replied, firing dozens of blue spheres from his paws towards his enemy. Geodude was nearly taken by complete surprise by the speed at which Riolu was hurling the glowing orbs, but managed to recompose itself and come back to its senses in time to duck behind a large rock on the field for cover. Ash and Riolu smirked at this strategy, however.

"Oh no you don't that's not going to work." Ash taunted. "Riolu. Get underground and prepare."

"_**I'm on it!**_" Riolu leapt forward, and started to drill through the dirt of the field with his front paws, disappearing underground. Geodude creeped out from behind his shelter, and started to watch his surroundings, trying to estimate where Riolu might appear from.

* * *

><p>Misty and Gary watched in amazement at Ash's apparent skill in battling.<p>

"Whoa. He's good." Misty praised him.

"He's a natural." Gary agreed. "Well… he is very well training in combat, so Pokémon battles don't come as an alien concept to him either." He explained.

* * *

><p>Brock scowled in frustration. Riolu had been hiding for five minutes now, and it wasn't getting funny.<p>

"Alright, kid. Enough of the hiding, just attack already." He demanded. Ash smirked as he saw his plan beginning to work.

"Alright, Riolu." Ash said, calmly. "Time to stop playing hide and seek." As soon as he said this, the ground below Brock's Geodude started to glow bright blue. A second later… BOOM! The arena erupted in spheres of blue as Riolu struck from underground, throwing Geodude helplessly into the air. With a thump on the ceiling, and a crash on the floor, the floating boulder was rendered unconscious. Ash smirked as Riolu leapt out of the crater he'd created from his aura sphere strike, and hopped back to Ash's side of the field. Brock growled at the sneering boy and recalled Geodude.

* * *

><p>Gary proudly watched on as his little brother whooped Brock's first Pokémon with hardly any effort.<p>

"He's got a natural talent for battling, I'll give him that." He said, coolly. His face faulted, however when he remembered what Pokémon was next to come. "But I hope he's ready for his rematch with Onix." He whispered.

* * *

><p>"Alright, Onix." Brock said to the new pokéball in his hand. "Let's teach this kid a lesson he won't soon forget. Go!" He hurled the pokéball, releasing the dreaded rock snake.<p>

"GROARGH!" The colossus roared, making Ash and Pikachu grit their teeth in a mix of nerves and revenge. Riolu sensed this tension, and turned to Ash, giving a sympathetic look.

"_**Do you want Pikachu to take revenge on this guy, or do you want **__**me**__** to whip him?**_" He asked. Ash shook his head clear of his mixed thoughts.

"No thanks, Riolu. You've done your part." He smiled, motioning his head to his side. "Fall back now." Riolu obeyed, and marched back to Ash's side. Ash turned his head to Pikachu, who was growling vengefully at the snake. "Alright, Pikachu. Time for some revenge." Ash smirked. Pikachu nodded, and charged onto the battlefield. He glared at his foe, cheeks sparking warningly.

"_**Alright, you overgrown pebble necklace, get ready for some major arse-kicking Pika revenge!**_" He snarled.

Brock looked at the kid before him in frustration, but a little begrudging admiration. This guy seems to know what he's doing all of a sudden. Where'd this sudden boost of confidence come from?

"Onix, let's not let our guard down. This kid isn't as bad as the last three trainers were. We're gonna need our full power for this fight." He warned. Onix roared in agreement. "Alright. Bind it!" Brock commanded. Onix whipped its mighty tail towards the tiny mouse Pokémon, ready to squeeze him into submission once more.

"Not this time!" Ash muttered, venomously. "Pikachu! Underground, quickly!" Pikachu nodded, and buried himself under the arena, making Onix's tail snatch at thin air.

"Oh no. Not again." Brock growled. "Onix, use Earthquake to shake 'em up." Onix raised his tail high into the air, and slammed it into the arena floor. However, instead of causing a massive tectonic disturbance as everyone expected, the rock snake's tail became stuck in the ground, and a vast proportion of the arena floor around the snake had caved in around it, trapping the bulky beast in a mess of rock and dirt, like a pitfall trap. Ash and Riolu smirked as Brock gawped in surprise. "Wha- what the-?" The gym leader stammered, completely lost for words.

"That's Riolu's forward preparation." Ash smirked, petting Riolu's head proudly, earning a satisfied coo from the humanoid fox. "When he dug underground last time, he left a mess of tunnels underneath where I knew you'd release Onix, ready to trap it by caving in if you made any sudden movements. And it worked perfectly." The raven haired boy gloated. "Pikachu! Reveal yourself and use scratch attack!" Pikachu burst out of the soil, leaping into the air, and began to claw furiously at Onix's head.

The giant snake shook its head ferociously, trying to shake the painful mouse off, but Pikachu kept clinging on for dear life.

"Onix! Trying throwing Pikachu upward. Maybe you can gain enough momentum to free yourself from the pit." Brock ordered. Onix obeyed, and jerked its head upward, flinging Pikachu skyward, making him crash into one of the gym lights. As an involuntary reaction, Pikachu let out a burst of electricity, short circuiting the light, and causing it to spark a small fire. Free from the yellow pest, Onix wriggled his tail, managing to free just enough length to reach out and wrap Pikachu up just before the mouse hit the ground. The snake coiled his tail around Pikachu, and started applying pressure.

"_**Oh no, not again.**_" The rodent strained, painfully. Brock smirked as he _finally_ had the upper hand.

"Good try with the pitfall idea, kid." Brock crowed, victoriously. "But it seems that you're little improvements weren't enough." Ash growled hatefully at this comment. All his hard work. All his effort. That _wasn't_ going to go to waste.

Suddenly, the fire that Pikachu had accidently sparked on the light had started to smoke, alerting the gym's fire extinguishing system. The sprinklers activated, pouring water down on the arena, drenching the battlefield in the process. And, more importantly, soaking Onix as well. Feeling the liquid splashing against his rocky skin, Onix let out an uncomfortable roar not liking the unexpected shower. His grip on Pikachu weakened, and he ended up letting the mouse go altogether. Ash smiled at his good twist of fortune, and wasting no time in taking action with the odds flipped in his favour.

"Alright, Pikachu, quick! Use Thunderbolt on Onix while it's wet. Maybe the water will conduct the electricity, and do harm to him." Pikachu acted as quickly as he could, and zapped the rocky serpent with a large Thunderbolt attack, causing the snake to writhe in agony. "Yeah!" Ash cried, victoriously. "Now, let's finish it up! Let's use… huh? What the-?" Ash felt himself lurch this way and that as many pairs of young hands grasped and pulled him, holding him back from declaring his final move.

He looked down and found all of Brock's younger brothers and sisters holding him, defying him from calling his finishing move.

"No!" He heard one cry. "We won't let you hurt Onix, you big bully!"

"What? I'm not a bully." Ash protested, but the Brocklings still refused to relinquish him. Riolu prepared to remove the children by force, but Ash raised a hand to stop him. "Riolu, don't." He ordered. "Don't hurt them. They're not doing any harm." They _were_, however, interrupting the match.

"Let him go!" Brock demanded of his younger siblings. "This is an official Pokémon League gym battle. Don't interfere."

"But, Brock, we know how much care you took with training your Onix." The oldest girl of the Brocklings whined. "We don't want to see your favourite Pokémon hurt." Ash thought about the girl's words, and realised she had a point. The sprinklers activating was a complete accident. He was taking an unfair advantage. What kind of a Pokémon trainer would he be if he took an advantage that shouldn't have existed in the first place? In his view… he'd be a cheater.

"She… she's right." He confirmed, must to the surprise of Pikachu, Riolu, Brock, Misty and Gary. "Pikachu, stand down." He commanded. "I forfeit." He declared. Brock was flabbergasted.

"But, Ash…" He tried to reason, as the boy turned to leave. "…you- you were winning. You almost had me. And, guys…" He addressed the Brocklings. "…you shouldn't have interfered. Onix was just fine. He's used to rough battling. You didn't do that when the other three challengers came, so why interfere with Ash's match?" He chided them. Ash turned back to Brock, giving a sad smile.

"No, Brock. They were right." Brock was taken aback by this comment. "The sprinklers activating was an accident, and I took an unfair advantage. That wasn't fair of me. But… hey. I'll go train some more, and I swear I'll earn that badge fair and square third time around." And with that, he left the gym, followed by Riolu, Pikachu, Misty and Gary.

Brock watched them leave, pondering Ash's words.

"Maybe…" He muttered.

* * *

><p>Ash and friends were walking along the bank of the river that ran through Pewter City. Riolu look confusedly at Ash.<p>

"_**Ash, what did you forfeit for? You nearly won.**_" He whined. Ash sighed.

"That, so-called, 'lucky break' where those sprinklers went off was an unfair advantage. I won't to win the gym badges, yes. But I don't want to _cheat_ my way to victory." Ash reasoned. "I'm sorry if you feel that your efforts in that battle were wasted Riolu. You too, Pikachu." He apologised.

"_**It's OK, Ash. I understand.**_" Pikachu replied, smiling. "_**Maybe next time, we'll-**_"

"ASH!" Ash and his friends turned to find Brock chasing after them. Ash sighed, wondering what the gym leader wanted. Nonetheless, they stopped, and Brock caught up to them, panting for air as he leaned against his knees. Once recovered, he stood upright, and held out his hand to Ash, revealing the grey octagonal Boulder Badge in his palm. "You forgot this." He said. Ash looked down at the badge, confused. He looked Brock in the eye, to check if he was having him on. However he looked just as serious as he sounded.

"But… I can't." The Pallet boy protested. "I don't deserve it. I forfeited. Twice."

"That may be." Brock nodded. "However… the second time you forfeited, you nearly had me and Onix defeated. If it hadn't been for my little brothers and sisters, I know you will have surely beaten me. You _definitely_ deserve it." And with that, he placed the grey badge in Ash's hand, folding his fingers around it, securing that the badge was his.

Ash opened his hand to look at the badge, and smiled up at Brock, thankfully.

"Thank you, Brock." He said, sincerely.

"My pleasure." Brock responded. He stepped to the side, and looked out across the river, a dreamy look engulfing his slitted eyes. "In all honesty, I get more pleasure from _raising_ Pokémon than making them battle. I don't care about being a gym leader, or a Pokémon trainer. _My_ dream is to be the world's greatest Pokémon breeder." He mused, contentedly. "But… I can't leave Pewter City, because I still have to care for my little brothers and sisters. Ash… do you think you could fulfil that dream for me on your journeys?" He requested. Ash looked at the leader, smiling. Little did anyone else, with the exception of Riolu, knew… but Ash had sensed a familiar presence that was going to change the situation. Ash politely shook his head.

"Mm-mm. I won't need to." He said. This confused Brock, Misty and Gary for a second… until Flint turned up, seemingly from nowhere.

"Brock." He said, addressing the gym leader. "You go and follow your own dream." He said, almost demandingly.

Everyone, but Ash and Riolu, looked at Flint in surprise. Ash smiled and turned his attention to Brock.

"I think Flint has something to say to you, Brock." He chuckled. Flint removed his hat and fake beard, revealing himself to be an older looking version of Brock. Brock sneered at the man upon recognising him.

"My father." He snarled. Ash nodded, and patted Brock's shoulder calmingly.

"Just hear him out." He advised. All eyes fell on Flint, expectantly.

"I'm sorry for my actions, Brock. Not long after I left Pewter City to become a Pokémon trainer, I found myself completely unable to do anything right when it came to Pokémon battles. I became a laughing stock as a trainer and, because I was too embarrassed and ashamed to show my face to my family, I never had the balls to come back." The man explained. "It's time I step up to the plate for once, son. I'm going to head back home and take care of my family for once. I want you to head out and fulfil your dreams and mine." He said to his son. Brock, who had remained stoic until this point, reached into a pocket in his body warmer.

"First… I have to tell you a few things." He said, simply, pulling something from his pocket and placing it in Flint's hand. "Here." He said. Flint inspected the item awkwardly. It was a needle and thread. Brock then handed him a notepad and pen, and started listing off his siblings' various daily requirements and behaviours. "Suzie's always ripping her dresses, so you'd better learn how to sow, and Timmy only eats cold spaghetti for breakfast. Tommy likes cornflakes for dinner…" He was speaking at such a pace, a normal person's tongue would already be feeling sore.

"Slow down! I can't write that fast." Flint panicked, starting to sweat as he tried to scribble down notes of what Brock was saying about the Brocklings.

"Cindy sleepwalks, so you have to tie a bell round her wrist, the twins _never_like to take a bath…" Brock kept listing at his tongue-twisting speed as the Sun kept setting.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Ash and his friends were gathered at the road leading out of Pewter City and on to Cerulean City via Mount Moon.<p>

"Thanks for letting me tag along with you on your adventure, Ash." Brock thanked.

"Don't mention it, Brock." Ash waved, politely dismissive of the thanks. "It'll be fun to be travelling with all you guys."

"Ooh. Yeah… um… Ash?" Gary said, awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "I, um… well… what I want to say is… do you not mind if I just… head out by myself for a bit?" He requested, nervously.

"Huh?" Ash blinked. "How come?" Gary shifted, uncomfortably.

"Well… it's just that… well… I-I'm not too comfortable in big travelling groups. I'm sorry, Ash, I really am. But… h-how about we meet up every once in a while, yeah?" The boy asked, a little nervously.

"Sure. That'd be fine, Gazza." Ash replied. "I understand if you feel a little uncomfortable in a big group. Meet up sometime soon?" He said, holding out his hand in a fist. Gary smiled, and fist bumped his brother, friendlily.

"Deal." He confirmed. "Smell ya later, Ashy-boy." He smirked, giving Ash a small salute as he turned to head off down the road.

"See ya later, Gare Bear!" Ash called after him.

Riolu turned to Ash, apologetically as well.

"_**Um… Ash… I need to go too. Professor Oak will probably get cranky at me for hanging around you too long.**_" He said.

"It's fine, little buddy." Ash said, pulling Riolu into a small hug. "We'll see each other again soon. I promise." He said. And with that, Riolu vanished in a blue light.

* * *

><p>As Ash, Misty, Pikachu and their new companion, Brock, headed out of Pewter City, a familiar dog watched them go. She smiled to herself, contentedly.<p>

_It's good that he's making new friends._ She thought. _I can tell he's never going to be lonely on his travels. Good for you, Ash._She sighed. She looked to the mountain ranges of Mount Moon that lay over yonder, and set out after the humans, making sure she kept her distance as they trekked away on the way to adventure.

* * *

><p><strong>And there we go. Thank you everyone who's been giving in ideas for this chapter, and all ideas for a life and death scenario Ash and Ninetails are going to meet with are being considered. And, right now, I'm considering putting multiple ideas together.<strong>

**Here's a question I've thought of for you lot...**

**Do you want to see Gary earning a few of these badges that don't exist in the official list?**

**This would give us an opportunity for an OC competition. And if we were to do that, I could offer a reward like... having the winning reviewer - not only have their OC appear in the fiction, but the reviewer THEMSELVES could make a cameo appearance as a trainer. Or, I could give a shout out to the reviewer and/or a story reccomendation. What do you think about that, guys? Leave me a few reviews tell me what you think of that idea, and we'll see what happens.**

**Now... this business that I may not upload the next chapter next week... I'm sorry, but next week's going to be chaos for me. Tuesday, I have a driving theory test. Wednesday AND Thursday, I have auditions for university. So... I may or may not get the next chapter up in time for Sunday. If I don't, I apologise in advance, and I'll find a way to make up for it, I promise. If I MANAGE it, then... WIN! LIKE A BOSS! And see you next week (if all goes well).**

**But... until next time, take care.**

**Salvador Rider**


	15. Clefairy and The Dance of The Moon Stone

**Hello, everyone. I'm back, and I'm sorry about the late upload. And I'm sorry, too, for the fact that this chapter isn't complete. This is now part one of Clefairy and The Dance of The Moon Stone, because the last two weeks have been so chaotic for me, I've hardly had the time to write this in full. I'll try and get back into my usual rhythm as quickly as I can. I'd like to thank Bunny153539 for the Team Rocket OCs, and I hope to see a fiction by you soon.**

* * *

><p><span>Clefairy and The Dance of The Moon Stone <span>

Ash, Brock and Misty walked through the forests that bordered the road between Pewter City and Mount Moon.

"Mount Moon." Misty recited, dreamily. Doesn't that name sound romantic?"

"There are old legends about Mount Moon, saying that a meteor crashed into it in prehistoric times." Brock said, catching Ash's interest.

"A meteor, huh?" He mused.

"Is that true?" Misty asked, intrigued.

"The meteor's known as the Moon Stone." Brock replied, implying a high probability the legend was true. "It's said that this stone has the power to make certain kinds of Pokémon evolve somehow."

"Moon Stone, huh? Now _that_ sounds romantic." Misty exclaimed, with stars in her eyes.

Her romantic fantasies were cut short, however, when the gang heard a bloodcurdling scream. They rushed to the sound's source as quickly as they could, and found a man in a white lab coat crouched on the ground, trying desperately to protect himself from a flock of rather pissed looking Zubat. Ash pulled out Dexter to analyse the Zubat flock.

"Zubat, blind Pokémon with supersonic powers. Zubat live in caves and hate to fly outside in daylight." The encyclopaedia reported.

"Then why are _these_ ones outside?" Ash wondered.

"Now's not the time for speculations, just help that guy!" Misty shouted.

"Right. Pikachu! get them away with Thundershock attack!" Pikachu sparked at the cheeks, readying a devastating attack for the attack bats. He leapt off of Ash's backpack, where he'd been perched during the groups' hike, and zapped the batty Pokémon in mid-air. With the shocking point made, the group of bats retreated. Well, all except for one, which had been knocked out by the attack. Ash spotted the KO'd bat. "Meh." He shrugged, pulling out a pokéball. "Might as well help the poor thing." He said, calmly throwing the ball towards the conked out Zubat. The capsule landed, without resistance, on top of Zubat, and withdrew the creature inside. In less than ten seconds, the capsule was still and settled, ensuring Zubat's capture. Ash picked up the pokéball and smiled. "Gramps will take good care of you, Zubat. I promise." He told the ball. A second later, it vanished in a flash of white light; teleported to Professor Oak's lab. Ash then turned his attention to the guy the bats were attacki9ng who had accidentally gotten caught up in the Thundershock attack and was laying on the ground in a daze.

Ash hurried to the man's side as Pikachu leapt into his arms.

"Are you OK, sir?" He asked. To his surprise, the young adult suddenly leapt to his feet as if he'd never gotten shocked before.

"WOW! You gotta be the greatest!" He exclaimed in a nerdily nasal voice, engulfing Ash in a massive, smothering, death hug.

"It was nothing." Ash protested, modestly, hoping to shrug the weirdo off him.

"I'm talking mega fantabulistically fantabulous. Two thumbs up! Way up! The best rescuer I've ever had!" His derpy rant was severed, however, by a very annoyed Pikachu, who'd gotten squashed between the two, zapping both the weirdo in the lab coat _and_ Ash into human charcoal. Seconds after, however, the stranger was up on his feet again as if the shock hadn't happened. "Your Pikachu has a pretty good Thundershock attack there, young man." He complimented. "And thanks to that power I'm alive. I'M ALIIIIIIIVE!" He screamed to the high heavens. "Did I ever mention how grateful I am?" Ash sweat dropped awkwardly.

"Uh… it _may_ have popped up in conversation once or twice." He said. "So…" He rolled, trying to move the conversation to something else. "…why were those Zubat attacking you, Mister?" Being called 'Mister', however, made the scientist gasp.

"Never call me 'Mister'." He snapped. "My name's Seymour, and I'm a scientist. And those Zubat were attacking me because they were confused."

"Confused?" Ash blinked.

* * *

><p>"See here?" Seymour asked, earning a nod from Ash and company as the group wondered through the caves of Mount Moon. The walls of the cavernous tunnels were lined with lights and bathed with a yellow glow. Not even the shadow of a pebble was cast, it was so bright. "Someone's strung up all these lights in the caves. But the Pokémon who live here need darkness. They've evolved to deal with pitch black, and these lights are upsetting them."<p>

"But why would anyone want to do this?" Brock wondered. Seymour stopped walking and turned to face them.

"I have a hunch that it's because of the Moon Stone." He told them sadly.

"The Moon Stone?" Ash asked.

"Yes. The Moon Stone is a meteorite that crashed into Mount Moon many millions of years ago. Fragments of this meteorite can be found all over the mountain, and can make some species of Pokémon evolve. Including the local population of Clefairy."

"So, do you suppose the people doing this are after the pieces of the Moon Stone for something?" Misty inquired, sounding rather worried.

"Without a doubt." Seymour confirmed. "I just wish I knew who they are and what they're planning."

* * *

><p>Elsewhere in the caves of Mount Moon, three figures were laying out traps around the tunnels. All three figures were human, two males and one female, and wore matching black uniforms with a big red R on the chest of their shirts.<p>

The first male, Dalton, was a young man of about nineteen years of age. He had a little bit of podge to his body, with slightly puffed cheeks and a soft rounded belly. His hair was short and rather bland, baring a chocolate brown hue to match his hazel brown eyes, and he stood at five feet and one inch tall. The female, Alexis, was about the same age as Dalton. She had short, naturally blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes. Unlike Dalton, she wasn't in the least bit podgy. In fact, she stood two inches taller than Dalton, and was fairly tone and slim. However, if Ash were nineteen, he'd easily beat her in the muscle department he probably did anyway. Just if anyone wants to know; her breasts were 36DD, just a physical aspect to list. The leading Grunt of the trio was called Kio. Kio was a forty five year old man with the body of a high school jock. He had brown hair, however it was starting to turn grey with his age.

The three Rockets stopped laying their traps for a minute to inspect them.

"There. We'll be bound to catch at least one or two Clefairy for the boss now." Dalton smiled, proud of his work.

"Oh great (!)" Alexis whined. "I chipped a sodding nail." She huffed and pulled out a nail file to fix her damaged cuticle.

"Oh get the fuck over it, Alexis!" Kio ordered. "Arceus! You're such a pissing drama queen."

"Ooh, get you, Mister I-can-reference-a-Pokémon-that-hasn't-appeared- in-the-canon-yet-because-I've-just-been-transferred-here-from-Hoenn." Alexis bit back, viciously. Kio snarled in response.

"Watch your fucking tongue, girl." He threatened. "The boss has had enough issues with Jessie, James and Meowth acting all mysterious lately. He doesn't need stress from rebellious teenagers who are too princess-y to do any fucking work." The Rocket Grunts stopped bickering as they heard footsteps approaching. They hid in their set hiding places, and laid in wait.

* * *

><p>"So why do you think it's so bad that there's people trying to take the Moon Stone, Seymour?" Ash inquired, as he and the others turned another corner in the winding tunnels.<p>

"Ever since I was a little boy, I always had this theory that all Pokémon originate from space." Seymour said. "And the Moon Stone acted like a spacecraft to take them here." Ash and friends couldn't help but sweat drop at this, frankly, barmy idea.

"Well, that certainly is an original theory." Misty said, trying to be polite.

"And so…" Seymour continued regardless. "I feel that this means the Moon Stone _belongs_ to the Pokémon. It's what brought them here. And, so, is _their_ property. We humans must never take it."

Suddenly, the sound of singing could be heard.

"Clefairy~ Clefairy~ Clefairy fairy, fairy~" Sang a small pink Pokémon as it skipped merrily past te group, not seeming to notice them, as it carried a small black stone in its paws.

"Hey." Brock exclaimed. "That looks like a Clefairy."

"Aww. What a cute little thing." Misty sighed, with stars in her eyes. Ash flipped open his pokédex.

"Clefairy. This impish Pokémon is friendly and peaceful. It is believed to live inside Mt. Moon, although very few have ever been seen by humans."

"Hey, Ash. How about you catch it?" Brock suggested. Ash, however, looked a little unsure of this proposal.

"I don't think that'd be very fair." He said, shaking his head. "I mean, look at it. It's so happy here. I don't want to disturb it."

"That's very mature of you, Ash." Seymour complimented. "You know… I've never met anyone your age as responsible as you-"

"CLEFAIRY!" Came an almightily distressed scream. The group ran to the source of the cry, only to find the Clefairy that had passed them just seconds before was now dangling upside down with its foot caught in a noose trap.

Ash skidded to a halt, his eyes wide in horror. He snarled at the trap and looked around furiously for the trap builders.

"Come out and show yourselves, Rockets!" He demanded. To his surprise, the Grunts came out of hiding without too much debate. He eyed them up furiously. "Who the hell are you?" He sneered.

"Well how do you fucking do too, kid (!)" Kio glared, unimpressed by Ash's bad manners. "Didn't your mummy ever tell you to curb your language?"

"Now _that's_ just pot calling the kettle black!" Ash retaliated. "At least _my_ language wasn't as foul as yours!"

"I'm an adult, boy. You're a child. I can swear as much as I bloody well want, if you please."

"Just who do you think you are?" Brock demanded, getting bored of the man's foul tongue.

"The name's Kio." Kio introduced himself. "And these are my colleagues; Alexis the Princess and Dalton the Shorty."

"Hey! I've _told_ you I don't like being called 'short'!" Dalton spat, spitefully.

"And every time, I've told you I don't give a toss." Kio reply nonchalantly. Ash stood rigid as a statue, fists tightening.

"I don't care who these idiots are." He growled. "All I care about is that they're Rockets." He snatched Scyther's pokéball away from his belt, enlarging it ready for battle. Kio noticed this, and clicked his fingers at Dalton.

"Take care of this ballsy little git, will ya short stuff?" He commanded. Dalton growled, but stepped forward anyway.

"I'm not in the mood for messing around, so I want you to use two Pokémon at a time, Dalton!" Ash ordered, surprising everyone.

"What?" Dalton spluttered. "Bu-but why?"

"The sooner this battle's over, the sooner I can finish you." Ash hissed venomously. Dalton complied at took two pokéballs from his belt.

* * *

><p>"Go, Spearow and Grimer!" Dalton threw his pokéballs, releasing his Pokémon of choice. Ash looked at his own pokéball, with a snarl on his face.<p>

"Show them now mercy." He hissed, hatefully. He threw the capsule to release Scyther into battle. Without being given a single command, the mantis started slashing and hacking at his enemies.

"What the-?" Dalton spluttered as his Pokémon collapsed in a heap. He looked up to find Ash smirked evilly at him. The boy cracked his knuckles and mouthed 'You're dead' at him. Swiftly, Dalton replaced his fallen Pokémon with a Golbat and Tangela. But the battle ended in the same way; Scyther attacked without a single word, flooring the foes in seconds. By now, Dalton was shaking in fear. This kid only released his Scyther from its pokéball, and it was taking down his Pokémon without so much as waiting for an order. But now, he had the big guns to deal with him. He snatched his last two Pokémon from his belt, and released them into battle.

Kio turned to Alexis, covering his mouth with his hand to stop Ash and his friends hearing what he was saying.

"Grab the Clefairy and let's get the fuck out of here and find more." He whispered.

"Good idea." Alexis nodded. She and Kio snuck around the battle to the noose trap that held Clefairy and ran down the tunnel unseen by Ash and co.

* * *

><p>Ash stood smirking at the sight before him. Dalton's last two Pokémon; Onix and Nidoking were laying on the floor unconscious. Knocked out in the blink of an eye, like the rest by Scyther's fury. Dalton was now a jabbering wreak, shivering and quaking at the knees. Ash cracked his knuckles, and started to advance at the young man intimidatingly.<p>

"WAH!" Dalton wailed as he withdrew his last fallen Pokémon and ran out the tunnels of Mount Moon and out the mountain itself.

"Damn!" Ash cursed, smacking a fist into a rock nearby to him. "He got away."

"Never mind, Ash." Misty said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "At least you scared him off." Suddenly, Ash realised something. There was something missing. He looked around the tunnel, only to find his hunch was correct. Kio and Alexis were gone.

"BALLS!"

* * *

><p>Alexis and Kio dashed and darted through a labyrinth of samey tunnels, halting only when they thought it was safe to catch their breath.<p>

"Never… make me… run… like that… again… asshole!" Alexis complained, as she leant her back against a rocky wall, pulling a mirror from her pocket to inspect the damage done to her makeup by her profuse sweating. "My bloody mascara's run and everything."

"Oh boo – fucking – hoo, Princess (!)" Kio shrugged rudely, sucking in a lungful of air to recompose himself. "Who gives a shit about your face paint when we now have the key to our ultimate goal?" He smirked, pulling the Clefairy from the sack he and his accomplice swiped, smirking rather menacingly at the poor thing. "Now listen to me, you little fairy." He snarled. "Take us to the mother Moon Stone. Or suffer the consequences."

* * *

><p>"How the hell did I let those jerks go‽" Ash shrieked, pulling at his hair with frustration. "Now they have Clefairy!"<p>

"Ash!" Misty ran to his side, and grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing him to look at her. "It's not the end of the world. We can still find them."

"She's right, Ash." Brock chipped in. "Seymour… what do the Clefairy do with the Moon Stone?" The scientist's face became dreamy as he spoke.

"Ahh… the Moon Stone. An elegant boulder that fell from the skies many moons ago. Every year, around this time, the Clefairy gather fragments of the Moon Stone that are spread throughout Mt. Moon, and they assemble it into the mother stone, and dance around it in worship." Ash's face was next to light up with excitement.

"So if we find the place the Clefairy take the fragments, we'll find the Rockets that took Clefairy away!" He concluded, punching the air in excitement.

"It's worth a shot." Seymour agreed.

Pikachu's ears twitched as he heard something trotting down the caves towards the group.

"Hey, Ash. Company incoming." He announced, turning in the direction of an approaching figure. The group followed Pikachu's gaze and watched as the small figure made itself known. As the light hit the creature's figure, Ash smiled welcomingly.

"Nice to see you again."

"Well, well. I can't seem to leave you alone for five minutes, Ketchum." The figure smirked, jokingly.

* * *

><p>Clefairy made her way through the caves, a little slower than she was before. There was no spring in her step. She didn't skip anymore. A few yards behind, her captures kept her under Hawkeye surveillance.<p>

"Shouldn't be long, now." Kio murmured. Sure enough, the Clefairy turned a final corner, and the Team Rocket grunts found themselves in a massive cavern, where many other Clefairy were piecing together large chunks of Moon Stone into a giant onyx coloured boulder. "Alright, Clefairy." Kio hissed. "Go about your business. And act natural." He threatened, as he and Alexis slinked off behind a rock to lie in wait. Clefairy gulped, and made her way to the mother stone, hoping and praying for someone to come and safe her and her kind before it was too late.

* * *

><p>Ash and the gang made it to the cavern just in time, with the guidance of their newest arrival, to see the last of the Clefairy finish the assembly of the Moon Stone. They all darted to the side to hide behind a rock and watch, as the Clefairy began their religious ceremony. The pink fairies jumped around, waving their arms and chanting.<p>

"Clefairy! Clefairy! Fairy, fairy, fairy! Clefairy! Clefairy! Fairy, fairy, fairy!" They sang as they waved they fingers and chanted together.

"Wow, it's beautiful." Misty mused, as she watched the pink puffballs jump around merrily. Ash, however, was on high guard.

"Where are you?" He seethed under his breath.

Suddenly, there was a huge bang, and dust and debris was thrown into the cavern as a large drilling machine exploded into the room. When the dust settled, the machine was revealed. It was a large, simply designed, orange mechanism with a big red R printed on the side. A pair of large mechanical arms extended from the device, and swatted the Clefairy away, leaving the Moon Stone open for swiping. Kio and Alexis ran to the machine, and climbed inside as the metal monster grabbed the Moon Stone and burrowed off, tunnelling its way out of the mountain. Ash and crew sprang to action, leaping from behind their rock.

"Brock! Get Onix out, and let's get after them!" Ash barked. Brock nodded and unleashed his Onix, who roared ferociously. All boarded the giant serpent, including the Clefairy, and the beast dove into the Rocket Mecha's tunnel in hot pursuit.

* * *

><p>The Rocket drill burst through the side of Mt. Moon, skidding to a halt as it reached the sunlight. The main cockpit opened, revealing Kio, Alexis and Dalton, all congratulating each other.<p>

"We did it!" Kio cawed, triumphantly. "Wait til the boss gets a load of this." Their gloating, however, was cut short, as a giant Onix broke free of the mountain after them, stopping a few feet before them. From its back jumped the Clefairy, Ash and his group. Kio sighed in exasperation, slamming his head against the back of his seat. "Does this little twat _never_ give up‽" He complained.

"It's over for you!" Ash roared. "Release the Moon Stone and I may be gracious." This comment made Kio and Alexis roar with laughter.

"Oh, get over yourself, kid." Alexis cackled, as she and Kio jumped from the mecha. "What harm can _you_ do?"

This comment made Ash seethe with venom.

"Engage me in battle, and I'll show you!" He ordered, throwing away his hat, jacket and shirt to reveal his well-toned muscles beneath. Kio snorted at this remark, while Alexis whipped a pink handkerchief to her now bloodied nose.

"Very well, brat, prepare to be humiliated." Kio mocked, throwing a pokéball into the air. In a flash of light, a Blaziken was released from the ball, who assumed a fighting position. Alexis recovered from her nosebleed, and released her own pokémon; a Nidoqueen. The two pokémon stared down the child, who didn't even bat an eyelid back.

"Ash." Riolu came to his side, assuming a fighting stance of his own. "I'm here with you." He said, smiling determinedly at his trainer and friend. Ash returned the smile, and the two prepared for combat.

"ATTACK!" Kio ordered the pokémon, who roared and rushed for the duo. Ash, masterfully, ducked a right hook from Blaziken, and landed a quick series of punches to the beast's hip, causing the fire fighter to stagger back in pain. Riolu ran towards the Nidoqueen, and slid underneath the behemoth, barrel rolling to his feet, and blasting a series of aura spheres into her back, causing her to stagger and headbutt Blaziken. The two pokémon wobbled, concussed, allowing Ash to open fire with a barrage of golden aura spheres, sending them flying into the Rocket drill.

"Let's kill 'em." Ash spat, murderously. But before he and Riolu could advance on the Rockets, the Clefairy jumped in the way, and started their dance again, waving their fingers, which were now glowing white, from side to side.

"What are they doing?" Misty asked Seymour.

"I think they're performing metronome." He replied.

"Metronome?" She blinked.

"It's a move that copies any other Pokémon's move randomly." Brock clarified. "But it can be so random, one never knows what move it could turn out to be. It could be harmless, like Splash. Weak, like tackle. Or dangerous, like Explosion." The Clefairy stopped their dance and started to swell and glow.

"Oh no. ASH! Get out of there! That metronome came out as Explosion!" Seymour warned. Ash and Riolu leapt away just in time, as the Clefairy erupted, shattering the Rocket machine and the Moon Stone into tiny fragments.

"The Moon Stone!" Misty gasped in horror.

"Don't worry." Seymour reassured them. Misty and Brock looked at him confusedly. "Watch."

As they did, they saw the Clefairy jump around from side to side, watching the skies intently as shattered bits of Moon Stone fell to the ground. A few Clefairy had bits of Moon Stone tap them on the head in their descent, which caused them to glow in brilliant white and morph as they changed and evolved into Clefable. The group watched in awe. "You see? The Moon Stone gets broken, anyway, as part of the ceremony to choose the Clefairy who evolve into Clefable. Then the pieces are scattered around the mountain again for next year." Seymour commentated.

"Aww, how romantic." Misty cooed, as the last few pieces of Moon Stone fell to the ground. Ash smiled at the sight, as dozens of newly evolved Clefable began helping the Clefairy to gather the pieces of Moonstone again. His smiled soon curled into a sneer, however, when he caught Kio, Alexis and Dalton clambering out of the wreckage of their machine with a Gardevoir. He dashed for them, knocking the three grunts flat on their backs.

"Now it's time to deal with you three." He hissed, venom dripping from his words. For the first time, Kio looked truly terrified.

"Look, kid. Calm down. Please."

"Calm down‽" Ash erupted, making the man flinch. "You work for the crooks that murdered my mother, and almost killed me, and you want me to calm down‽" Kio sat up slowly with his hands in the air in surrender.

"Look. Kid. Life's fucking unfair. We all witness this. And I'm as sorry as I can be for your old lady, but we're not the ones who offed her."

"I know." Ash growled, bitterly. "But you're associated with them. So I can't let you live."

"Kid, please." Kio begged. "Listen. We're not proud of what we do for Team Rocket, honest we're not. Yes, we've stolen for them. Yes, we ruin people's lives. But Dalton, Alexis and myself have _never_ taken another's life. We'd never."

"I don't care!" Ash screamed, violently, socking the man in the jaw. "I just want Team Rocket dead." He sobbed. Kio rubbed his sore jaw, and reached for his backpack, taking out a portable incubator with an egg in it. He looked to his Gardevoir, who nodded silently.

"Kid. Listen. This Gardevoir is mine. And this is her egg." He told Ash, lifting the egg to the child. "She's very protective of her unborn child. But she doesn't want to see her baby grow up in Team Rocket. If you could find it in your heart to spare us, I'll gladly give you this egg in return. The Ralts that hatches from this egg will be a valuable partner for you, I'm sure. Ash stared at the egg, mixed emotions flowing through his head. Anger at Team Rocket which hadn't been doused in forever. Confusion of why this Rocket was being so gracious. And debate for how much he could trust this man.

_**Please.**_ Came a voice inside Ash's head, as Gardevoir approached and knelt before him, grasping his hands in her own. _**My child can't live like this. I couldn't bear to see my baby grow up to do such awful things. Please take the egg, and raise my young one to be good and kind and true.**_ Tears welled in the emotional Pokémon's eyes. Ash thought about his answer, then slowly nodded, taking the egg from Kio's grip.

"Fine. I'll do it." He accepted, still rather reluctant. "But if I ever see you in those uniforms again, prepare to die." He warned.

"You won't. I swear. You won't, kid." Kio smiled gratefully, as he and his two teammates ran away into the woods. Gardevoir smiled kindly at the boy. _**Thank you. **_She said, kissing him on the forehead before teleporting away to her trainer. Ash glanced down at the egg he now cradled in his arms, and smiled.

"That was very forgiving of you, Ash." Misty said, as she, Brock and Seymour approached him. Ash grunted in response.

"If I see them again, I won't be so merciful." He bit back.

"Thank you all for helping to save the Moon Stone from Team Rocket with me, you three." Seymour piped up. "I couldn't have done it on my own."

"It was nothing." Ash said, modestly.

"Well, I'd better be off." The scientist said, before plodding away back to Mt. Moon."

"And we'd better be doing the same." Ash announced to the group."

"Clefairy." The group glanced down at Ash's feet, where a small Clefairy was hugging his ankle.

"Hey. You're that Clefairy from before." Ash said, crouching down to the Pokémon, who nodded happily.

"Clefairy. Fairy, clef." She squeaked.

"You wanna come with?" The ten year old asked, earning a happy nod from the Pokémon. He smiled back, giving a nod of approval. "OK, then." He said, pulling a pokéball from his pocket. "You can come along to." He pressed the button of the capsule to Clefairy's forehead, sucking her inside. With no resistance, the capsule clicked shut, and disappear with a flash to Oak's laboratory. Without another word, the group went on their way to Cerulean City.

From behind a tree, a cloaked figure with a cape, read hair and sunglasses watched the group leave.

* * *

><p>"Compassionate and forgiving. Even to his enemies." The stranger critiqued. "Very impressive, master Ketchum." He smiled, as he slinked away into the shadows.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>This is no longer a two parter. Sorry for the lack of updates, I'll explain next chapter.<strong>

**Salvador Rider**


	16. Cerulean's Water Maidens

**Holy. Crap. How long have I been away? That's shameful. I'm so sorry to everyone who's been following this story. If anyone's given up on it, I'm sorry I've disappointed you. Before reading this chapter, please take time to read Clefair and the dance of the Moon Stone again, it's been altered.**

**I'm not making excuses, but I have had some complications. For those of you who care, I'm going to university in September, so I'm getting ready for that, and it's causing me a lot of stress. I'm also now fighting depression, which sucks to Hell, and my health's been yo-yoing up and down frantically. I'll try getting back into rhythm as soon as I can, I promise. I hope you enjoy this story with each update that comes up in future.**

* * *

><p><span>Cerulean's Water Maidens<span>

In a darkened showroom of the Cerulean City machine store, a trio of figures climbed into the room of water cleaning equipment through the air conditioner vents. The first figure to enter the room was a young man with violet hair. The second, a young woman with pink magenta hair. And the last was a Meowth. The trio strode quietly across the room to a large machine that looked like an industrial sized vacuum cleaner, used to hoover out muck from a large swimming pool.

"Here it is." The man said, smirking.

"Just what we need to get what we want." The woman agreed.

Ash, Brock, Pikachu and Riolu walked along the country road towards Cerulean City, enjoying the relaxing heat of the spring climate.

* * *

><p>"What a wonderful day for a walk in the Sun." Ash sighed contentedly, giving a stretch.<p>

"It's lovely." Riolu agreed, mimicking his trainer's stretch.

"HEY!" The group turned to see Misty, who'd seemed to have fallen behind, charging up the path in a frenzy. "Where do you think you're going?" She directed at Ash, leaning on her knees as she caught her breath.

"I _know_ where I'm going, Misty. Cerulean City." He replied. Misty gasped in horror.

"Ash, please don't drag me back home." She begged, confusing the boy.

"Huh? Why not? Did something happen between you and those sisters you wrote to me about?" Misty nodded, embarrassedly. "What happened?" the redhead sighed, took in a deep breath, and looked Ash in the eye.

"I had a falling out with them. They're so concentrated on doing water ballet shows instead of training their Pokémon for battles that they just weren't putting up any resistance against challengers. I demanded that they let _me_ take the challenges, as I'd be more competent in battle than them. But they just mocked me, and told me I was just the little sister who couldn't do anything right. So I got mad, and ran away from home." She confessed, small pearl shaped tears forming in her eyes.

Ash took pity on his sister figure, and pulled her into a comforting hug, which she gratefully accepted.

"You must feel like Cinderella sometimes, then." He cooed, softly. The girl nodded into his jacket. After a minute or so of the hug, they let go, Misty's eyes being dry now. "But don't forget." Ash told her, reassuringly gripping her shoulders. "I owe you a gym battle with Riolu." They looked to the fox Pokémon, who gave a cocky grin and a 'thumbs up'. This got Misty rather perky quite quickly.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" She exclaimed, punching the air with enthusiasm before striding off back home. Ash smiled, proud at the fact he was able to make Misty feel more secure, and the rest of the group followed after her.

* * *

><p>Ash, Brock, Misty, Pikachu and Riolu wondered the streets of Cerulean City, taking in the sights of the town. Their leisurely walkabout was interrupted, however, as they saw a large crowd gathered around a storefront which was sealed off by police tape and cars. The group made their way to the front of the crowd, stopping at the black and yellow border. Ash turned to a young man next to them.<p>

"Excuse me? What happened here?" The young man glanced down at Ash before responding.

"Burglars got into that store last night."

"Burglars, huh?" Ash growled behind gritted teeth.

"What do you know about burglars?" Came a voice. The kids looked up to see Officer Jenny looking at them rather suspiciously.

"Well, I know that they're petty crooks who deserve a severe beating." Ash responded, biting back bitterness.

"Is that so?" The officer bit back. "You and your gang look very suspicious to me." This comment made Ash sigh in frustration.

"Is _every_ Officer Jenny so quick to accuse kids of committing crimes?" He huffed. "First the Viridian Jenny accuses me of stealing my own Pokémon, now this." This comment didn't go unnoticed by the cop, seeing as she was only mere inches away.

"Viridian? So you know my sister-in-law." She concluded. "What sort of heinous crime did you commit to have a run-in with my sister-in-law‽" She demanded, invading Ash's personal space so ferociously he narrowly avoided pushing her back.

"Officer, don't you have better things to do with your time on the job than accusing ten year olds of crimes they'd never commit?" Ash seethed in retaliation. "Like catching the bandits who _did_ steal from this store‽"

The officer backed off rather sharpish at this kid's exclamation.

"Kid. If there's one thing I've learned in this line of work, it's never trust anyone who's been pulled over by my sister-in-law." Ash grunted, exasperatedly, and pulled Dexter from his pocket.

"Maybe this can clear things up." He said, flipping the pokédex open and powering it up. A picture of Ash lit up on the screen.

"I'm Dexter." The device said in its electronic voice. "A pokédex programmed by Professor Oak for Pokémon trainer Ashton R. Ketchum-Oak." Brock and Misty then pulled out their gym badges; Boulder and Cascade respectively.

"And we're two of the Pokémon League's official gym leaders." They chorused to the officer.

"Well, that's proof enough for me." The officer said, dropping the tough cop act altogether. "I'm so sorry I suspected you kids." She apologised humbly. "I've just been a bit on edge lately. There hasn't been much crime in this town for a bit, so the adrenaline of getting out of the office must be getting to my head rather quickly."

"Excuse me, Miss?" Brock said, getting the cop's attention. "My friends and I have only just got into town, and I wondered, since I'm new in town, you and I could meet up sometime, and you can show me round."

"Well, I'm sorry. But I'm not off duty til past your bedtime." The policewoman said, shooting Brock down like a shotgun to a Pidgey. "And I may be working round the clock to catch these thieves."

"So… what did they steal?" Ash quizzed.

"Well, that's the strange thing. All they took was a giant vacuum and a massive hose." The officer told him, looking rather puzzled. Ash contemplated the components. Quietly, inside his head, he theorised why these thieves may have taken these two, very specific, items. It was a long shot, but his theory seemed plausible.

"Well, I think we may have taken too much of your time, Jenny." He politely excused himself and his friends. "Come on, guys. I've got a badge to cream Misty for." He chuckled, making Misty chase after him, ready for an argument.

* * *

><p>Ash and the gang walked through the street away from the crime scene, making their way towards the gym. Brock stopped, falling half a dozen steps behind the others.<p>

"Hey, guys." He called to them. "There's some stuff I need to check out in town. Mind if I break off for a while?" Ash nodded.

"That's fine, Brock. See ya later." Everyone waved a temporary goodbye, and Ash, Misty and the Pokémon continued to the gym.

Eventually, they turned a corner in the local park, where the Cerulean City gym became visible. It was a rather girly looking gym. A large dome shaped building decorated like a circus big top with alternating strips of orange and pink. On the front of the gym was a large statue of a Dewgong with a wave like décor around the rim of the dome.

"Cerulean gym." Ash mused. Misty shifted uncomfortably. "Don't worry, Mist." Ash assured her. "How about you go round back, and get ready for our battle?" She nodded, and headed off to the gym's back door. When she was out of sight, Ash turned to Pikachu and Riolu with a determined look in his eyes. "Ready, you two?"

"Let's do this." They cried.

* * *

><p>Ash and the two Pokémon got to the battle stadium just in time to hear the announcer welcome the amassed audience to a show.<p>

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Cerulean City gym water show. Please put your hands together for the Cerulean's Sensational Synchronised Swimming Sisters!" A spotlight illuminated three teenage girls stood on top of a very high diving board. One sister had blonde hair, one pink, and the other blue. They waved to their audience, blowing kisses at some of the teenage boys, and dove into the pool in perfect sync. They hit the water all at once, earning an uproar of applause from the crowds. When they surfaced, they started to dance in a water ballet style, each keeping perfect time with her sisters. The crowd watched in silenced awe. But Ash, Pikachu and Riolu were less than impressed.

"Hmph. What do they think they're doing?" Ash huffed. "A Pokémon gym is no place for water ballet." The show ended in about half an hour, with the same swimming tricks being performed at least a dozen times over. Nevertheless, besides the sameness of the show, the audience applauded wildly, apart from Ash and company.

When the audience was gone, Ash made his way down to the pool, where the three girls were towelling off, complimenting each other about the show. "Excuse me?" He said, drawing their attention. The pink haired girl looked at him as if he were a pesky fanboy.

"We don't do autographs, and we're, like, far too busy with our routine practice to go on dates." She said, as if she'd rehearsed the line a million times. Ash scoffed at the comment.

"Please. You flatter yourselves." He retorted. "I'm here for a gym badge. I didn't come here to find a gym being used for repetitive nonsense."

"Well, sorry, kid. But we're, like, so totally wiped from our performance." The blue haired girl said, swiping a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Plus, we don't have any Pokémon in any fit condition to battle." The blonde added. "They were completely totalled, like, last week by three Pallet Town trainers." Ash smiled at this.

"So Gary's doing rather well." He mused. "Well, don't worry." He shrugged. "I guess I'll just battle the fourth Sensational Sister." The girls blinked at him.

"Fourth?" The pink haired girl questioned.

As soon as she spoke, the lights blazed into life again, and the pool had been redecorated with floating stepping stones. Stood on the, now lowered, diving board was Misty. Ash smiled at her, as the sisters glared.

"Yes." Misty announced with grandeur. "The fourth of the Sensational Sisters. Me! Misty Waterflower!"

"Like, in your dreams, runt." Blondie retorted. "There are only three Sensational Sisters, and one runt wannabe."

"Now, hold it, bimbo!" Ash snarled. "Many years ago Misty and I were penfriends. And I promised her I'd battle her for the Cascade badge with my Riolu. And I'll bet she knows how to battle _way_ better than the three of you put together." He said. Point made, he strode to the arena, positioning himself opposite Misty. "How about a two one two match?" He asked.

"Sounds good." Misty agreed. She unclipped one of her pokéballs, and threw it into the pool. "I choose you, Staryu!" In the water, a large starfish Pokémon materialised, spinning readily for battle. Ash flipped out Dexter to get an understanding of his foe.

"Staryu. The core of this Water Pokémon shines in a rainbow of seven colours, a core that is valued by some as a type of jewellery." The device reported. Ash rolled his eyes.

"Trust a girl to flash her jewellery." He joked, making Pikachu, Riolu and Misty giggle.

"Enough of the silly jokes and send Riolu in, Ash." She chuckled.

"Alright, Riolu. Prepare for combat." Ash said. Riolu leapt onto one of the floating stepping pads, landing skilfully in the centre.

"Ready to help, friend." He barked.

The two Pokémon stared each other down, as the three older sisters watched from the side-lines.

"Do you think Misty could win?" The blue haired girl asked.

"Like, maybe in her dreams." Pinkie retorted.

"Ladies first." Ash offered, being a gentleman.

"Off you go, then." Misty teased, causing Riolu to snicker.

"Oi. Riolu, who's side are you on?" Ash chuckled, lightheartedly. The group recomposed themselves, and got ready for battle.

"Alright, Staryu, use water gun!" The starfish pointed its top point of t=its body towards Riolu, and fired a jet of water towards him.

"Block it." Ash said, calmly. Riolu extended his arms out, stopping the water cold, not even flinching. Misty gasped at the skilful block as Staryu ceased his failed onslaught. "Now use aura sphere." The fox unleashed a barrage of blue spheres towards his opponent.

"Spin to evade." Misty ordered. Staryu complied, only just escaping the balls of energy.

"Now try bone rush." Riolu formed a large blue bone of energy, and leapt towards the star Pokémon, swinging wildly. The brown starfish ducked and dived every swing.

"Get into the water." The star flew through the air like a shuriken, diving deep into the pool.

"That's not gonna protect you, Mist." Ash smirked. "After it, Riolu." And Riolu dove into the water in hot pursuit. Once underwater, Riolu's eyes began glowing a pale blue colour, and he settled comfortably in his new aquatic environment, as if he had gills. "Aura sphere." Another barrage of spheres came Staryu's way, knocking the Pokémon out of the water and into the ceiling. The star fell like a stone flat on its front, knocked out stone cold.

"Staryu, no! return." Misty cried, as she returned the fallen starfish into its pokéball.

"Riolu. Retreat." Ash said. Riolu nodded, and leapt to his side. "I don't wanna make this too easy for me."

Misty pulled another ball from her pocket, and released it into the pool.

"Go! Starmie!" The larger starfish materialised, stood on one of the platforms. Ash drew his own pokéball, and tossed it into the air.

"Let's go, Pidgeotto." The bird Pokémon took form from the ball, hovering in mid-air. "Your move, Misty."

"Fine. Starmie, psychic attack." The purple star's inner core began to glow a pale blue. Soon, Pidgeotto, too was bordered by this blue energy. The bird stopped flapping its wings, and started to struggle against the paranormal force holding it. Ash gritted his teeth, but knew there was nothing he could do. The bird Pokémon found itself getting tossed across the arena and into a wall. The bird slid down the wall in a heap.

"Come on, Pidgeotto. One psychic attack is nothing. You can take that, and dish it back tenfold." Ash encouraged the weakened bird, who staggered to its feet. The Pokémon preened his feathers, and flew back to the arena. "Alright. Now use wing attack!" Pidgeotto's wings glowed white as it swooped down on Starmie.

"Starmie, block it." The starfish extended two of its arms and grabbed Pidgeotto's wing, holding it away from itself.

From the side-lines, Misty's sisters watched on.

"Wow. Misty's battling technique's, like, pretty good." The blue haired girl complimented.

"Well, we got all the looks, so I guess Misty needed to get _some_ talent." The pink girl replied, in a backhanded complimentary way. Ash and Misty stared each other down, waiting to see if either Pokémon would give.

"Try a peck attack!" Ash called. Pidgeotto started pecking at Starmie's central core ferociously, making the star Pokémon lose its grip of Pidgeotto's wing, allowing the Pokémon to uppercut its foe into a wall. As Starmie fell, roughly to the floor, its central core began flashing dimly, showing it was low on health.

"Starmie's energy's nearly gone!" Misty exclaimed.

"Now let's get that badge, Pidgeotto!" Ash called, determinedly. Before any attack could be called, though, there was an almighty rumble as a machine broke down a wall in the arena room. When the dust cleared up, Ash snarled as he saw that it was a giant vacuum device with a large hose attachment. On the side of the machine was a trademarked red R.

"Check out that massive hair dryer." Blue hair said.

"Like, who invited the party crashers?" Blondie added.

A panel on the front of the machine opened, and a platform rose from within. Upon which were two figures.

"Sorry to burst in on you, ladies." Said a feminine voice.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves." Added a masculine one.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight."

"Meowth, that's right."

"You three again!" Ash snarled.

"That's right, twerp." James snorted back. "And don't think we've forgotten to finish the job on you. But for now… we have work to do."

"And what's that‽" Misty demanded.

"Water type Pokémon have an advantage in water itself." James answered.

"But if we take away the water…" Jessie added.

"Those Pokémon are ours for the taking." As James finished his explanation, Meowth pulled a lever on the top of the vacuum, extending the hose into the gym's pool and commencing extraction of the water. Ash growled as he watched the machine do Team Rocket's dirty work.

"I thought so. You're the crooks who broke into that electrical store!"

"The swimming pool." The blonde wailed.

"They're sucking it dry." Misty observed.

"That's _our_ water." The pink girl moaned.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Meowth said. "I should give it back." And he switch the vacuum from suck to blow, spraying Ash, Misty, her sisters, Pikachu and Riolu with water. In the commotion, Pikachu and Riolu got swept into the pool.

"Now it's time to suck 'em up." Meowth cawed, and he set the vacuum back to suck, sucking up pool water and the gym's Pokémon with it, including Pikachu and Riolu. Ash watched helplessly as he watched Riolu and Pikachu spin round and round in the water as the vacuum swallowed it up.

Just as things looked bleak, Ash got an idea.

"Wait. Water conducts electricity. Pikachu! Thunderbolt attack!"

"TAKE THIS!" Pikachu shouted, discharging several volts of electrical energy into whatever water was left in the pool. The water conducted the power right through the vacuum cleaner, shocking Team Rocket in the process. The vacuum sparked and spazzed with the electrical overdose, and erupted in a cloud of smoke, blowing Team Rocket sky high, and flooding the gym pool with water and Pokémon again.

"You know? It's times like this that make me want to go straight." James said, as he tried to smooth out his now frizzy afro.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" The trio screamed as they flew off into the distance.

* * *

><p>The group counted up the Pokémon. All of them were returned safe and sound.<p>

"You know, Ash. We never finished our match." Misty reminded her.

"Yeah. Round two?"

"Mm-mm." She replied, shaking her head. Ash's face faltered, confusedly. Misty put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. On cue, a Seel flopped into the arena room, and opened its mouth, sticking its tongue out to reveal a Cascade badge. Misty picked the badge off the Seel's tongue, and handed it to Ash. "You've earned this, for saving the gym's Pokémon. And, besides. You were beating me, anyway. Starmie was a goner if Team Rocket hadn't stepped in." She said, placing her hands behind her head. Ash looked down at the badge, a little disappointed.

"But… this is the second badge I haven't officially won a match for."

"Don't worry, Ash." The blonde haired girl said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You did very well to earn that badge. Misty's right. You would've _totally_ won that badge if it weren't for those bozos." She said, kissing the boy on the cheek. "Thank you." She whispered into his ear.

"Yes. We, like, total y owe you, dude." The other two sisters admitted, also kissing him on the cheek.

"If ever you want something, call us." The blue haired sister offered.

"We've got some good celebrity contacts." The pink girl added. "We can, like, call in some favours, and pull some strings."

"Thanks, girls." Ash said, and left for the Pokémon Centre.

"Hey, Mist." The blonde girl pulled Misty aside to talk to her and the other sisters. "Your boyfriend's, like, totally talented."

"Daisy. He's not my boyfriend." Misty moaned. "He's more like a brother to me."  
>"Whatever he means to you," The blue haired girl waved off her sister's whine. "Be sure to take good care of him."<p>

"I will, Violet."

"And, lil sis…?" The pink girl piped up, pulling Misty into a hug. "We're, like, so totally sorry for all the mean stuff we said to you. you really mean the total world to us." All of the sisters stood together in a hug, making Misty tear up a little.

"Thanks, girls." She said. When they broke the hug, they bid their farewells, and Misty set off after Ash.

* * *

><p>From behind a bleacher, a large fox smiled to herself. '<em><strong>Well done, baby boy.<strong>_' She thought. '_**Well done.**_' And she crept out, silently, of the gym.

* * *

><p><strong>Well... it's been too long, and I've finally got an update. I wanna do something to make up for it. I'm thinking of doing some short chapters where Gary earns some of the unknown badges. So, competition time. Sen in your OC ideas for gym leaders, and I'll use the best. I'll need names, appearances, type specialty, Pokémon the leader uses, and any other data you care to add. The ones I use will be notified, and I'll offer you a reward, like a shout out or a story reccommendation if you wish. Until next time.<strong>

**Salvador Rider**


End file.
